Pot of Gold Redux
by rhymenocerous
Summary: This is something that I would like to have seen happen during Episode 17 of Season 6 - Pot of Gold. This is my first published story, so please be kind! Warning for some language in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Based on episode 6-17 Pot of Gold

A/N – This is my first published story, so please be gentle. I started thinking of this story when Mac was talking to Reed and Cam about the murder and Cam said that it was a police officer – I thought, "Oh my gosh! Danny's badge!" I was kind of let down that once again we had an episode that totally ignored all the D/L storylines that had been hinted at earlier in the season (especially in Criminal Justice and Flag on the Play – Danny's back and his missing badge). Pot of Gold was still a very exciting episode, but I thought that this would have been a great opportunity to re-introduce the plot of Danny's missing badge and set up for the season finale showdown with Shane Casey. Ah well. I am sure that TPTB have something awesome up their sleeves… but here is what I would have liked to have seen happen in Pot of Gold.

Oh, and of course, I own no one.

* * *

"The guy was a freaking cop, Mac" said Reed.

Mac stared at Reed for a moment. "What? How did Cam know he was a cop? Did the guy ID himself?"

"Yeah, he said the guy ID's himself said he was NYPD. Name was Master? Mercer? Messer? Something like that. He said he found these guys trespassing and they attacked him, so he had to take them out. He said he was investigating some gold fraud and that these two were a part of it."

Mac was staring very intently at Reed. He spoke very slowly. "Reed, I need you to think very hard. What did Cam say the officer said his name was?"

"I – I can't remember Mac. I'm sorry. I really can't. Cam said that he flashed his badge, and he got a good look – he thought the numbers were like 8-5-7-1. Something like that. Why? What's the big deal? You know somebody by one of those names?"

"Hey Mac," came a familiar voice, laced with a thick New York accent. "What do you need us to do here?"

"Yeah, Danny. Hang on one minute." Turning to Reed, Mac continued in a low voice, "Stay here, and keep out of the way. I want to talk with you some more."

"Sure thing Mac. I'll be right here."

Mac turned and walked over to where Danny and Lindsay were standing with Flack.

"What's going on, boss? Where do you want us to start" asked Danny.

"Lindsay, I want you to start over there by the chain-link fence – that's where Cam was standing when we were talking. See if you can find anything there that would help us out. Flack, take some uni's and canvass the area – see if you can find anyone that might have an idea where Cam went after he ran off."

"Where do you want me, boss?" asked Danny.

"You? I need to talk to you. Come with me," said Mac, turning and walking away.

Danny gave Lindsay and Flack a worried glance before turning and following Mac away from the crowd of people now milling around the crime scene.

"Mac, what's going on…"

He was cut off by Mac. "Danny, what is your badge number?"

"My- my badge? What? Why?" stammered Danny. "Why do you need to know my badge number?"

Mac raised his eyebrows. "I just need to verify something. So, if you don't mind. What's your badge number, Danny?"

Danny glanced nervously around him. "Mac, you know my badge number. You had it sitting on your desk for over a month after I was shot. It's 8-5-7-1. Why?"

Mac contined to stare at Danny with his eyebrows raised. "I thought so. I just needed to confirm that number with you. I have another question, if you don't mind."

"Nah, go ahead Mac," answered Danny.

"Where were you at around 7pm on March 10th?"

Danny's eyes went wide as he stared back at Mac.

"What? Mac, seriously, you're starting to freak me out here. What's going on?"

"Danny. Where were you at 7pm on March 10th?" he repeated.

"I was at home. With my wife. Putting our daughter to bed," said Danny.

"And Lindsay can confirm that?"

"What?" Danny's voice was raised in anger. "Of course Linds can back me up. What the hell is going on here? You actually think that I did this? That I would murder two kids?"

"Calm down Danny," said Mac. After Danny's outburst, people were starting to look at the pair. One pair of brown eyes especially lingered worriedly on Danny. Mac continued, calmly. "If you were at home, and Lindsay can verify that for you, can you please explain to me why someone attacked those two guys in the warehouse the other night dressed as a police officer, identifying himself as 'Messer' and carrying your badge? Number 8-5-7-1, right?"

All the colour drained from Danny's face. This was one of his very worst fears, coming true right before him. He felt his legs start to tremble under his weight, and bile start to rise in his throat at the thought of some scumbag murderer carrying around his badge. He wanted to vomit. He wanted to sink into a crack in the ground and hide from the steely glare of Mac Taylor. He stared shamefully down at his feet.

"Danny? How did this happen? How did this creep get his hands on your badge? And why is this the first time I've heard about this?"

Danny looked up and met Mac's steady gaze. "I'm sorry Mac. I should have told you sooner. I just, I thought I lost it, and that I would find it somewhere at home or at the lab. I just, was holding out hope that it would turn up."

"Well it did, Danny. Just not the way you had hoped," said Mac. His held Danny's forlorn gaze, then shook his head. "I thought that we were past all this stuff Danny. I thought that you had grown up. Matured. That you were smarter than this."

Danny withered at the disappointment clearly evident in Mac's words. His face was burning with shame and he could feel his throat constricting. "I'm so sorry Mac," he choked out. "I was having some problems with my back, and I tried everything. Linds recommended that I try an acupuncture place. So I go, and while I'm in the treatment, some jerk went into my locker and stole my wallet, my dog tags, and my badge."

"And did you report the theft? Did you tell anyone else?" Mac asked.

Danny carefully considered his answer. He was not the only person aware of his current situation. He had called Lindsay to tell her about his missing wallet and dog tags, and while he was on the phone with her was when he had realized that his badge was also missing. Flack had found out when he and Danny had found his dog tags for sale in an upscale pawnshop. However, Danny had no intention of ratting out his best friend and his wife. This was his burden to bear.

"No, Mac. I didn't," said Danny. " I told Linds about my wallet so that she could help me to cancel my credit cards and stuff, and Flack was with me when I recovered my dog tags at a pawn shop while we were investigating a case."

Mac's eyes widened as realization hit him. "Danny, tell me you don't mean the pawn shop you and Flack went to when we were investigating the Kristin Melvoy murder? Danny! That was over a month ago!"

"I know, Mac. I know!" said Danny. "I'm sorry. I just, I thought that if I could find it, then it would be no big deal, you know? No point in getting freaked out if it was stuck between the cushions on the couch."

Mac stared at Danny in utter disbelief. Danny could tell that Mac was carefully trying to control his emotions, but underneath his mask of relative calm, Mac was furious. And he didn't even know the full story. Yet.

Mac closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he looked at Danny and said, "As soon as you realized that your badge was not stuck in the couch, or under the front seat of your car, or in a drawer in your desk at work, you should have reported it to someone. Immediately!" Mac's voice started to rise in anger and frustration. Once again, people were staring at the pair. "Danny, what the hell were you thinking? You should have at least told Flack, or Lindsay. I'm sure that they would have told you to do the smart thing and report it. What the hell is the matter with you?"

On hearing her name bellowed into the conversation, Lindsay's head snapped up and she quickly caught the gist of what was going on between her supervisor and her husband. Mac knew.

"Mac!" Lindsay called out, as she walked quickly over to the two men. "What's going on? Why all the shouting?"

"Lindsay, stay out of this. It's not your concern," said Mac fiercely.

"Like hell it's not! You're standing in the middle of a crime scene, chewing out my husband in front of everyone, and it's none of my concern?"

"Linds, its fine. It's not any of your business. We're fine. Everything's fine. Just walk away," said Danny quietly.

Lindsay looked at him with confusion in her eyes. "You are not fine. Everything is not fine. And I will not walk away. Now will someone please tell me what is going on?"

"Linds. Please. It's fine."

"No, Danny. It's not! It's…""Montana. I said I'm fine," said Danny in a dismissive voice. "Thank you for your concern. Now will you please just go back to work."

Lindsay felt stung by Danny's comment. Danny would never, ever physically hurt her, but she felt as if she had been slapped. She was his wife! She had every right to look out for him, and to be concerned when he was in trouble. She could feel angry tears welling up in her eyes. She was about to tell him exactly what she thought about his suggestion, when she looked up at him and saw the worry behind his eyes. Almost imperceptibly, he shook his head. Lindsay blinked, not sure if she had really seen it. But it had been there. He was trying to tell her something. He didn't want her to be part of this. Then realization hit her. Mac didn't know that she knew about his badge. Danny was trying to protect her - to keep her from giving herself away. He didn't want her to be implicated in this. Keeping this in mind, she tried to make sure her face looked very stern as she looked at Danny and spoke.

"Fine. Have it your way."

She could see the relief flooding Danny's face as she turned to walk away. She felt like a traitor. She had known about Danny's missing badge and told him that they would deal with this together. And now she was walking away – leaving him stranded – bearing the entire burden for both of them. Lindsay was just as guilty as Danny in whatever was going on. However Mac had found out about Danny's badge, Lindsay was as much to blame as he was. She mentally kicked herself. She should have told him to report it sooner. She should have insisted. She hazarded a quick glance back at Danny over her shoulder. He looked so small and alone, hanging his head with his hands shoved deep in his pockets while Mac stood glaring at him.

The entire interaction had not gone unnoticed by Don Flack. He too had heard Mac shout his name, and it caused his ears to perk up, as he tried to listen intently to a conversation not meant for him, all the while trying to keep up the appearance of paying attention to the task Mac had set for him.

He saw Lindsay Messer look up from where she had been working, intent on examining a tiny piece of evidence, and glance at her husband. He also saw the worry on her face. He watched as she carefully sealed the evidence she had been examining away into a plastic evidence bag, then walked over to where Mac Taylor was talking, none-too-quietly, with Danny.

He noticed that while Lindsay, Danny and Mac were having a verbal conversation, Danny and Lindsay seemed to be having a completely separate, silent conversation of their own, carried out solely through glances and almost imperceptible gestures. Danny looked worried. Lindsay looked like she wanted to cry, and Mac looked generally pissed. Fortunately, he was too busy pacing to notice the soundless exchange between the married couple. When Lindsay finally turned on her heel and stalked away, Flack saw the relief wash over Danny.

"What the hell is going on here?" Flack thought to himself. As Lindsay moved past him to return to her previous task of collecting evidence, Flack took the opportunity to find out more.

"Hey, Monroe."

"Don," Lindsay sighed, "It's been almost a year since I've been a Messer."

"Right. Sorry Linds," said Flack. Glancing over his shoulder, he could still see Mac pacing back and forth in front of Danny, who looked about ready to crawl into a hole in the ground. Mac and Danny had both lowered their voices, so he could no longer hear what was being said, although he had a sneaking suspicion he knew the cause of the argument.

"It's okay Don. Did you want something?"

"Nah. Just seeing how you're doing. What's up with Danno and Mac over there?"

Lindsay looked up at Flack and gave a tiny, half-hearted smile before turning back to the evidence. She wasn't sure how much Flack knew about the situation, and she certainly didn't want to be the one to get Danny in deeper trouble. "I don't know Don. I…" she sighed and looked worriedly over at Danny again. Flack noticed her hesitation. He could tell that she was debating with herself about whether or not to open up to Flack. She was probably wondering how much he knew already. He decided to make this easier on her.

"Linds," he said gently, "I know about Danny's badge."

She stopped examining the small white rock she had been looking at and closed her eyes for a brief moment. When she opened her eyes again and looked up at him, he could see relief. "Don, I – I don't know what to do…" The relief that had made a brief appearance on her face quickly melted away as worry took over once again.

"Hey, Linds. It's okay. You're doing just fine," he reassured her. Looking away from her face, he nodded towards Danny and Mac. "What happened to get Mac all bent out of shape this morning?"

"I haven't really had a chance to talk to Danny yet," sighed Lindsay, "but from what I heard of their conversation, that guy from last night told the Vandemann kid that he was a cop, identified himself as Messer…"

"And he had Danny's shield," finished Flack.

Lindsay nodded. "I heard Mac shouting that Danny should have told someone, and I heard my name. That's when I went over. I wanted to tell Mac that I knew. And I didn't do anything… I should have made him report it. Or I should have reported it myself," she hung her head in shame. "But I didn't do any of those things. And when I tried to tell Mac, Danny basically told me to get lost and mind my own damn business."

"What?" Flack was shocked. He knew that Danny had a mouth on him at times, but he knew that he would never talk to Lindsay like that. Unless… "He was trying to protect you, wasn't he Linds?"

Still looking at the ground she nodded her head sadly.

"Don't beat yourself up Lindsay," said Flack. "He told me a few weeks ago. We were investigating the Kristin Melvoy murder and we ended up in this pawn shop. While I was talking to the owner, Danno got real excited about some dog tags that he found. I guess they got stolen at the same time as his badge. Anyway, I kind of dragged it out of him, and instead of offering to help, or doing something myself I just got really pissed off at him." Flack shook his head sadly. "And now this – and I feel like a complete jack-ass, Linds. I'm his best friend and I feel like I threw him under a bus."

Lindsay looked over to where Danny was still standing, shuffling his feet nervously, trying to avoid any and all eye contact with Mac. While Lindsay was watching him, Danny peaked at her out of the corner of his eye and when he noticed that she was looking at him, he gave her a tiny half-smile, then turned his attention back to the ground.

"Jeez. Mac is so pissed. I don't think I've ever personally seen him this mad before," said Lindsay.

"Well I have, and let me tell you it is no fun at all being on that end of the wrath of Mac Taylor," said Flack, remembering back to the day Mac had found him at Terrence's apartment and torn a strip off of him. He remembered Mac saying that he had sent Danny to all the hospitals to check and see if he'd turned up dead. A wave of guilt passed over him. Danny, still recovering from a gunshot wound, had traipsed all over New York City, looking for him. And when he had needed a friend, needed some advice, Flack at yelled at him and stormed off.

Lindsay sighed and looked back in the direction of her husband. "I can only imagine how he'll react when he finds out the whole story," she said.

"Huh? The what?" asked Flack. "What do you mean 'the whole story'?"

Lindsay's eyes widened in horror as realization struck her. Crap! Don didn't know! She mentally kicked herself. Of course he didn't know. He said that Danny had told him about the stolen badge, wallet and dog tags. But it wasn't until much later that same day that Danny had discovered whose fingerprint was on his dog tag. Flack's voice brought her out of her reverie.

"Lindsay? Lindsay? Come on. What did you mean by 'the whole story'? What don't I know?"

Lindsay started to pack up her evidence kit. When she had finished she stood up and glanced quickly over to Danny. Then she turned and looked at Flack. "Walk with me," she said and turned and strode away.

Flack's long strides meant that he could easily catch up to her.

"What…"

He was interrupted by Lindsay before he could get the whole question out.

"Don, did Danny tell you whose fingerprints we found on his dog tags?"

Mac was stunned. He was absolutely stunned. He was so shocked by the events of the past few moments, that he was finding it hard to register the information he had gathered. He just could not wrap his head around what was happening. First, against all of his better judgement, he agreed to Reed's idea of a secret meeting with Cam Vandemann. Then the revelation of the attacker from the previous night being a cop – or someone posing as a cop – and now this. Everything else he could have handled. But this? Mac sighed.

He had thought that Danny was passed all this crap. Had this happened four or five years earlier, Mac probably would have had an easier time of it all. Back then, he expected Danny to be irrational and to make snap decisions based solely on his gut instincts. However, over the past few years he had seen the once painfully impulsive young man grow into a mature and thoughtful investigator who he trusted implicitly to make smart decisions. His gaze drifted toward the young brunette woman working quietly on the opposite side of the crime scene. He almost allowed himself a small smile at the immense change that had come over Danny Messer since his beloved 'Montana' had become a part of his life.

Mac knew that they complimented each other. Lindsay was a calming influence on Danny. She encouraged him to think more carefully about his decisions, especially now that they had not only each other, but a young daughter to consider. And Danny allowed Lindsay to let her hair down, so to speak, and to not take everything so seriously. They made a good team. And frankly, it surprised and - if he was honest – deeply troubled Mac that Danny would have kept something so major from his wife. He was under the impression that they had no secrets, and this worried him.

And then there was Don Flack. Mac sighed again. Where to begin. For years it had always been Don digging Danny out of various scrapes he had gotten himself into. However, he was concerned about the turn their relationship may have taken. When he had sent Danny on his errand to Flack's house to see whether he had completely self-destructed, Mac hadn't counted on the after-affects that something like that would have in store for the two best friends. He could only assume that Danny, knowing what his friend was going through, had not wanted to burden him further with his current predicament.

Mac stopped his pacing and looked up at Danny again.

"I just don't get it, Danny," he said. "You know that you can come to me about anything. Yes, I am your boss, but I like to think that we're closer than that. That we're also friends. I'm hurt that you wouldn't trust me with something like this. I could have helped you. But now it's too late. It's been over a month since your badge went missing, and now my hands are tied. Whatever happens, happens. And there's not a damn thing that I will be able to do to help you out of this one."

Danny stopped shuffling his feet and looked up at Mac. Mac could see the stress of the entire situation in Danny's eyes. But Danny had gotten himself into this mess by not following proper procedure and reporting the theft as soon as it had happened. He hadn't even reported it after a reasonable amount of time had passed.

"Well?" Mac said loudly – much more loudly than he had actually intended. More quietly, he continued. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Danny ran his hands through his messy hair and sighed. His hand moved from his hair down to the back of his neck and started to rub. He looked up at Mac sheepishly and let out a long, slow breath.

"Mac," he started, tentatively, "I'm so sorry. More sorry than you will ever know. I just wasn't thinking, and I just hoped that everything would turn out alright. But that was stupid. It really was. I thought I could handle it by myself, but obviously, I can't."

"Danny, I know that you're very independent, and that its hard for you to ask for help. But we're all here for you. You know that," said Mac. "That's why this is so hard for me to understand. You have people in your life that want to help you and support you. And you do them a great disservice by underestimating how much you mean to them, and how much they want to be there for you."

"I know Mac. I know. I guess I was just trying to protect them," said Danny. "This is so hard, and I just didn't want anyone else to get into trouble, or feel responsible for something that was my mistake."

Mac looked at Danny. He saw Danny take another deep breath, hold it for a few seconds, then release it slowly once again.

"Mac, there's something else you need to know."

Mac looked at Danny and saw that the usually fidgety man in front on him had gone stock-still. Danny looked Mac in the eyes, and then turned and looked away, towards where his wife and best friend were talking quietly in the far corner of the crime scene.

"What is it, Danny?" demanded Mac.

"I told you that Flack and I recovered my dog tags at a pawn shop, right?"

Mac said nothing, only nodding his response to Danny's question.

"Well, I wanted to find out who the jackass was that stole it from me. So when I got back to the lab, I checked for prints, and I found one," said Danny. He looked at Mac, who was staring at him intently. He continued. "Figured it would just belong to the guy at the pawn shop, but I ran it through AFIS just to be sure. And I got a hit."

Mac noticed that Danny was looking everywhere but at him. He was avoiding eye contact with Mac absolutely and completely, which was very un-Danny Messer.

"And?" prompted Mac. "What did you find, Danny? Whose print was it?"

Danny continued to stare off into space for a minute and Mac could tell he was collecting his thoughts. "Danny!" he shouted. "Whose prints did you find?"

At his words, several heads around the crime scene snapped up. Out of the corner of his eye, Mac saw both Lindsay and Flack turn their attention back towards himself and Danny. They both looked incredibly worried, and Lindsay looked like she was about to throw up, or cry, or possibly both. And this worried Mac. A lot.

More softly this time, he repeated his previous question. "Whose prints did you find, Danny?"

Finally, Danny brought his eyes up to Mac's face. Steely grey eyes met terrified blue ones. Then he said two words that made Mac's head spin.

"Shane Casey."

* * *

A/N So, please tell me what you think. Should I continue? I have other ideas for where this should go. Please read and review! Any and all feedback will be appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews I received. They really really made my day. I went from being a paranoid freak, wondering if I'd made a mistake by uploading my story, to strutting around my apartment puffed up with pride at the fact that there are other people out there who enjoyed reading it. Thank you thank you thank you!!!

I hope that this chapter satisfies your need to see more D/L interactions - I just feel like TPTB are missing out on some golden opportunities to explore these two. So here goes. Chapter two.

And once again, they are not mine. I only get to take them out to play with them, but at the end of the day they still belong to Mr. Bruckheimer and CBS. Le sigh.

* * *

The car was filled with silence. As usual, traffic was bumper to bumper and they had been inching forward along the same block for about five minutes now, and neither of them had said a single word. And there was so much that Lindsay wanted to say. She just didn't know how. So she sat in the passenger seat staring at her hands which were clasped tightly in her lap.

"Linds?"

"Yeah, Dan."

"You okay?"

Lindsay turned to look at her husband. He was still staring straight ahead, but she knew he could feel the tension between them, and he hated it just as much as she did.

"No. I'm not," she replied.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"Danny..." she began, but he quickly cut her off.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you back there, in front of Mac," he said, "but I just didn't know what else to do. I didn't want you to say something that you would regret later, that you wouldn't be able to take back, not without giving you time to think this through."

Lindsay shook her head. She could feel the anger building up inside of her. She wasn't sure whether the anger was at Danny or herself. But she didn't care - she just needed to let it out.

"I'm not upset because you yelled at me, Danny! I'm pissed off because you could have let me take responsibility for my part in all this," she yelled. "I'm just as much to blame as you are. I've known about your missing badge since the moment you noticed that it was gone, and what did I do? Nothing. I did absolutely nothing! There are a thousand things that I could have done, but I decided sit on my hands. And what did we accomplish by doing nothing? We have gotten into a huge mess that neither of us can get out of, and I feel like it's all my fault."

She took a deep breath and turned to face the passenger window so that Danny wouldn't see the expression on her face.

"Linds," Danny said. She kept her face turned away and made no response.

"Lindsay?" Danny tried again.

"Montana, please?" he pleaded quietly.

She let leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the window and closed her eyes.

"What, Danny?"

"It's not your fault."

Her eyes flew open and lifted her head up off the window and turned to face her husband.

"It's not your fault, Linds," he said again.

"But Danny, I.." she began.

"Don't do it, Lindsay. Don't you dare say that this was your responsibility. Because it wasn't. It was mine. My badge. My mistake. My responsibility."

He was looking at her with such conviction that she was momentarily speechless. Her mouth gaped open while she tried to find words.

"But, how can you say that, Danny?" she asked. "How can you sit there and tell me that your decision - a decision that affects all of our lives - is not my responsibility? When you told me what had happened, I told you that we would figure something out together! I just don't understand."

Danny turned his attention back to the congested traffic in front of him as he maneuvered the car a few more inches ahead. They were still about twenty feet from the intersection, and about ten more blocks from the lab.

Danny wanted to bang his head against the steering wheel in frustration. Not at the traffic. He couldn't have cared less about the traffic. But Lindsay. What was she thinking? Didn't she see that he couldn't let her share in the responsibility for this mistake?

"Lindsay," he started tentatively, "I appreciate where you're coming from. I really do. And the fact that you would be willing to put yourself on the line for me," Danny shook his head in disbelief, "its just unreal to me. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. And how much I love you for it. But I can't let you do it. It's too much to ask of you."

He turned to look at his wife, and it broke his heart to see her staring at him with tears welling up in her beautiful brown eyes.

"Danny please. I don't want you to go through this alone!" she sobbed. "You say it's too much to ask of me? Well I say it's too much to ask you to go through this and carry this huge burden all on your own. I can't just sit here and do nothing anymore. I love you too much to let you do that to yourself."

Danny reached up to her face as a single tear fell down her cheek.

"Montana, I love you so much. You know that. But have you stopped to think about the bigger picture?" His thumb rubbed her cheek softly as another tear fell, followed by another. "My ass is on the line here, okay? I know it now. Mac basically told me that whatever happens, he can't help me. I could lose my job. Now think about what you're asking me to do. Think about what would happen if they found out that you knew? Lindsay, you could lose your job too, and I can't have that hanging over me. You're too good at what you do. You're too important to this lab. And you're too important to me and Lucy."

Danny continued to rub her cheek gently with his thumb as Lindsay squeezed her eyes shut in a feeble attempt to keep more tears from escaping.

"Danny, please," she choked out. "I can't lie to Mac. Or IAB, or anyone else who asks me. Please, don't ask me to be a liar."

Danny removed his hand from her cheek and moved to take her hand in his. The thumb that had been gently rubbing her cheek was now lovingly stroking the back of her hand.

"Lindsay," he said quietly, "I know this is very hard for you. But please. All I want to do is protect you, and this is the only way that I can think of how to do that." He paused and took his other hand off the steering wheel to take her chin in his hand and lift it so that he could look into her eyes. "I am not going to say anything about your involvement in this to Mac, or anyone else. It's your decision, babe. I don't want to ask you to do anything that you don't want to do, so if you don't want to lie, then don't. But please, baby. Please think about it before you make your decision."

The sound of a horn honking from behind them startled them. Danny looked up, only to realize that traffic in front of them had cleared somewhat, and that he had missed his opportunity to make it through the intersection. Cursing under his breath, he pulled his hand away from Lindsay and moved the car forward to take it's place at the stop light.

Lindsay looked down at the hand that Danny had just released. With the fingers of her other hand, she slowly ran her fingers over the spot that Danny had stroked with his thumb.

"Danny?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"Don knows."

"I know Linds," replied Danny. "He was with me when I found my dog tags, and I told him about my badge."

"No Danny," said Lindsay. "Don knows about Shane Casey."

Danny sighed and nodded his head.

"I figured he did," he replied.

Danny thought back to the crime scene they had left not long ago. He thought about all that had happened, and about what had been said, and what had remained unsaid.

_Danny felt like his heart was going to beat a hole right through his chest. He was so tense that he was shaking slightly. He had dreaded this moment since he'd seen the AFIS search results. He had tried about a thousand times, but he could never seem to get up the courage to tell Mac. He knew that his badge was a big dea. But he knew that that fingerprint was dangerous. And now that Mac knew, it was even worse than Danny had ever imagined. _

_The look on Mac's face was rapidly becoming more than Danny could take, and he quickly looked away again, disgusted with himself for his weakness. He trailed his gaze along the floor of the old warehouse they were standing in, only stopping when his eyes came upon a pair of shoes that he'd seen at home that morning. He raised his eyes up the familiar pair of legs and body until they rested on the beautiful brown eyes of his wife._

_His heart shattered at the sight of her. The concern and stress that had manifested themselves in the form of tears welling up in her eyes made him sick. Beside her he saw his best friend. His blue eyes wide with both shock and fear. Obviously, considering the circumstances he'd found himself in this morning, Lindsay had taken it upon herself to fill Flack in on the whole story. Either that, or he'd dragged it out of her. Probably a combination of both, Danny thought._

_Don Flack was nothing if not persistent, he thought. His friend had pulled him through some tough spots, and until recently, he had always been Danny's voice of reason. Whenever Danny had gotten himself into a less-than-ideal situation, Don had always been there to talk Danny down off the ledge. _

_Danny was more grateful that Flack would ever know for his unwavering support over the years. Who knows where Danny would have ended up if he hadn't had a good friend to help him choose the correct path?_

_But things were different now. Yes, he and Flack still had a good time together. They still riffed off one another when they were interrogating a suspect, or going over a crime scene, trying to fend off the morbidity of their jobs. But something was different now. Danny found himself a bit more guarded around Flack these days. Sometimes, when they were at a crime scene, or even at the lab going over the details of a case, Danny would look over and see a look on Flack's face. It was a look that spoke volumes, even though Flack hadn't said a single word. Danny's friend was still hurting, and he was completely at a loss as to what to say to him at times like that._

_It was because of that look that Danny found himself keeping more things to himself. Things that he never would have hesitated to talk to his friend about before. Things that he now worried would only add more weight to his friends' already heavily laden shoulders. _

_Danny had wanted to tell Flack right away about his badge. But he just couldn't do it. The thought of his friend feeling that he was obligated to help Danny out of yet another scrape was just too much. So Danny had kept it to himself for as long as he could._

_When Flack had finally found out, he was pissed. And rightfully so. _

_Danny knew that a missing badge was a big deal. He hadn't needed Flack to point that out to him. And Flack knew that as well. But Danny had a sense that Flack's outburst upon hearing about the situation had less to do with the missing badge itself, and a lot to do with the fact that he was being brought into the loop so late in the game. _

_Some friend I am, thought Danny, still gazing at the pair across the crime scene from him. And some husband for that matter. What have I ever done to deserve these two people in my life? Or the others? Stella, Mac, Hawkes, and Adam - they made up the rest of his extended work family. He had tried so hard to be deserving of their loyalty, love and support, and yet he constantly felt that he was letting them down. _

"Danny?"

Danny pulled his thoughts back to the present. He was startled to find that without even realising it, he had managed to maneuver the big CSI truck through the onslaught of mid-town traffic and was now parked in the underground parking lot below the lab.

"What are you thinking about?" Lindsay inquired.

Danny raked his fingers through his unkempt hair and let out a deep breath. He turned to face his wife and smiled shyly at her.

"I'm just thinking that I'm not sure if I want to go in there," he admitted. "By now, everyone will have heard about what happened, and what an idiot I've been. Again. I've already disappointed Mac, and Flack," he paused and swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat,"and you. I just don't know if I can do this anymore today."

Lindsay stared back into her husbands tired blue eyes.

"Danny, you haven't disappointed me. You have to know that, okay? I know that it's not going to be easy, going in there and facing everyone" she said placing her hand on his face and mimicking his earlier action by grazing her thumb gently over his stubbled cheek. "But maybe you should think of it like ripping off a bandaid. Do it fast, and then its over and you can move on."

She removed her hand from his face and watched as Danny nodded his head, closed his eyes and rested his head back on the headrest. He was still gripping the steering wheel tightly, and had not yet turned off the engine.

"Danny," she said quietly, "You know you have to go up eventually. And I'll be right beside you when you do. Come on."

She moved to undo her seatbelt, but Danny's hand on her arm stayed her movements.

"Montana?" he asked.

"Yeah, babe?"

"I love you," he said simply. "You know that right?"

She smiled back at him.

"Of course I do. And I love you too, sweetheart."

He hesitated before continuing, "Have you decided what you're going to do?"

She looked down to his hand that was resting gently on her arm. Her eyes trailed up from his fingers, his hand, his arm, up to his face. He was still resting his head on the headrest of the driver's seat, but had turned to face her. His blue eyes were full of concern - not for himself. She knew that. But for her. He was worried for her. Because of what he'd done, she now had to make one of the most difficult decisions of her life.

"You know that no matter what you decide, Lindsay, that I will understand and support you, right?" he asked. "Even if you decide to tell Mac that you knew, then I guess we'll just deal with that together. Whatever happens. But if you decide not to tell, then I will gladly take the blame. Because it wasn't your fault, Linds. None of this was. And I know that it's not fair to ask you to lie for me, especially when it makes you so uncomfortable. I won't say anything more about your roll in all of this to anyone until you have made up your mind, okay?"

She thought for a moment longer. She thought about seeing him standing, small and alone with his hands shoved into his pockets, while Mac railed at him back at the crime scene. He had looked so much like a little boy who had just been caught doing something incredibly naughty, and he made her heart ache. She didn't want him to go through this alone.

What were her priorities? Was what Danny was asking of her too much for their young marriage to handle? She still wasn't sure. But she knew that she loved him, and that he had acted with her best interest at heart. And he had left the decision up to her. He wasn't going to speak for her. And she knew that what he was saying to her was true. He would be by her side, no matter what she decided. Just like she had promised him when he had called her from the acupuncture studio - they would get through this together.

He sat looking at her for a moment longer, then removed his hand from her arm and turned off the engine. They both undid their seatbelts and got out from the vehicle.

* * *

A/N: Please don't hate me. I know that I am leaving you hanging, wondering what Lindsay's decision will be. Truthfully, I haven't fully decided myself yet, although I am leaning in a definite direction. Feedback? Pretty please?


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you to for the lovely reviews, and for those who added my story to their favourites. Your support means the world to me!

So here it is. Chapter Three. I hope that you like finding out more about Danny's relationship with Flack. Next chapter will be up soon, as it is almost finished. Just needs to have a few details worked out. Enjoy!

Oh yeah, and spelling mistakes and grammatical erros are my own. Despite my best efforst to thoroughly spell check and proof read, sometimes they just seem to find their way in, and for that I apologize.

As usual they're not mine and I have to give them back to CBS.

* * *

Don Flack had packed up and left the crime scene before the fireworks had started. Mac had still been pacing around, red-faced, and shouting orders to everyone. But Flack had his own orders to follow from his commanding officer, and had headed back to the crime lab to check on evidence in another case. Before he left he had given Lindsay a quick one-shoulder hug and told her to call him anytime if either she or Danny needed anything. He had given Danny a brief nod as he made his way back outside and to his car.

On the drive home, Flack's mind had been racing.

_Shane Casey. Shane Casey? Holy crap. Shane Casey! _

He couldn't believe that Danny had kept something so huge from him for so long. He had known, back when they were investigating the death of Kristin Melvoy, that something was up. Danny had been avoiding him, and when he had been forced to accompany Flack on an errand at an upscale pawn shop to check out a lead, Danny had kept to very safe topics like the Rangers or aspects of their current case. They had even bantered briefly about the fact that bars and pawn shops seemed to be the only businesses unaffected by the current recession. But Flack had known that Danny's heart hadn't been in it. He had simply been keeping up appearances. And Flack had wanted to know why.

_They had started out questioning the pawn broker together, but Danny's attention had quickly been drawn elsewhere. Flack had sighed inwardly with impatience, but had concluded his interview with the pawn broker and turned to leave. He nearly tripped over Danny, who was bent over a display case examining something through the glass._

"_Hey buddy, do me a favour?" Danny had asked. "Let me see this dog tag right here."_

_The pawn broker acquiesced and opened the display to retrieve the item for Danny. Flack had been surprised by this - usually Danny was very adept at keeping his personal activities from interfering with his work. Sure, they had stopped to grab a coffee or a slice once in a while on their way back to the lab or the precinct, but neither of them had ever dared to do any actual shopping while on duty._

_Flack was about to comment on this when he overheard the conversation going on between the two men in front of him._

"_See that?" Danny asked. "Messer. That's my grandfather. Someone just stole this from me."_

_What? Flack assumed he had misheard Danny, who had wrapped the item in a piece of tissue paper and had turned to walk out of the shop. The owner had some choice words for the two of them as they left, but Flack was to preoccupied to pay him much attention._

"_What was that all about?" he asked as they exited the store._

"_Last week my dog tags were stolen - obviously, my wallet, and my badge." Flack turned to face Danny, who was scrubbing his stubbled jaw with one hand. _

"_What!" Flack had exclaimed, "When did this happen?" _

"_My back's been bothering me, so I go to this acupuncture joint," Danny said. Flack nodded his head to encourage his friend to continue. "So, I come out of the treatment and go to my locker and everything's gone except my clothes."_

_Given the guilty look on Danny's face, and the fact that he was nervously looking around while they spoke just outside the doorway of the pawnshop, Flack had a sinking feeling that he knew the answer to his next question before he asked it, but he had to give Danny the benefit of the doubt._

"_Did you report your shield stolen?"_

_His heart sank when Danny shook his head and said, "No. I mean, I don't want to make a big deal about it... yet." he concluded with a shrug of his shoulders._

_Flack could hardly look at Danny. Why did he always have to do this? Flack had never met anyone who was more of a magnet for trouble than the man standing in front of him. But Flack had decided long ago that Danny Messer was worth it. He was worth the trouble he got himself into, and the trouble Flack invariably had to face to get him out of it again. _

_Danny was a devoted and loyal friend, and someone that Flack had also leaned on when more times than he cared to remember. When he had found out about his sister's alcoholism, Flack had know that he couldn't talk to his folks and it had been Danny that had stepped up and supported him. And when Jessica Angell - the love of his life - had slipped away from him a few short months ago, it was Danny who had dropped everything and turned up at the hospital. He had cried on Danny's shoulder and then they had sat silently, side by side, until the doctor had come to tell Don that he was allowed to go in and see her body. Danny had asked if he wanted him to stay. Flack had almost - almost - said yes. But he figured that he had taken up enough of his friend's time already. He had his own little family to return to. Danny had nodded, and Flack had turned and followed the doctor to see Jess for the last time._

_When he had come out of the operating room almost two hours later he had walked passed the visitor's waiting room, glancing in only to see if he had forgotten anything. He was startled to find Danny Messer sprawled out across the small and uncomfortable loveseat, sound asleep. Don had been truly touched by this gesture. Danny had seen the silent plea in his eyes when he had said that he didn't want Danny to hang around and wait for him. He had known that what Flack really meant was "please, don't leave me". _

_And Danny hadn't. He had stayed because he knew that Flack had needed him that night. And now? Now Danny's badge was missing. And Flack was pissed. Yes, he knew that it was a very big deal, despite Danny's comment to the contrary. But that is not what was bothering him right now. He was hurt and mad that his best friend had decided not to share this vital piece of information with him until he had no other option. He was basically cornered and faced with the decision to either lie by omission or to come clean. Flack was glad that Danny had chosen, eventually, to open up. But it still hurt._

_Flack had turned away from Danny, but after only a few steps he turned back to face his friend. "It is a big deal." he said simply._

"_I know!" Danny hissed back at him._

"_Some nut job is running around the city with your shield," Flack finished, turning on his heel and leaving Danny standing in the doorway._

Flack sighed. Looking back, he realized that he had focused so much attention on Danny's situation with his badge that he had completely missed out on the other admission that had slipped out while he was filling Flack in.

_My back's been bothering me._

As Flack eased the car into the underground parking garage back at the lab, he wished that he had paid more attention to his friend over the past few months. Granted, he had been preoccupied with his own troubles recently, but that was no excuse. Wallowing in his own misery and crawling further into an almost constant alcoholic stupor did not justify the fact that he had ignored his friend.

Danny had only been up on his own two feet, out of the wheelchair and without his cane for over three months. He had gone back to full and active duty as soon as possible, and Flack had never considered that Danny may have pushed his fragile body too far in an attempt to get back to the way things had been.

Danny Messer was never one to miss out on an opportunity to complain, but it had always been about trivial things. Like the fact that a particular crime scene smelled like bad fish, or that they had to stand out in the rain at 3am to pick up pieces of brain off the sidewalk. But since he had come back to work, Flack had never heard Danny utter a single negative word about how his body was reacting to the physical demands of his job. After recovering from the near-fatal gunshot wound that had left him unable to walk, Flack knew that the road to recovery had been long and hard for Danny, but once he was on his own two feet again, it was like he was a new person, hell-bent on savouring every step he took, for fear that he might have it all taken away again at any moment.

He remembered that after spending hours tromping through underground tunnels looking for Hollis Eckhart, Danny had chased after a suspect at full tilt through the streets of Manhattan, and almost gotten run over by two different cabs in the processes. When they had found that the suspect wasn't the killer they were looking for, but simply a homeless man in the wrong place at the wrong time, Flack had been touched by the way Danny had offered the shivering man his own brand new jacket after having to confiscate the one the man had been wearing. Flack had been impressed by the thoughtfulness of the gesture, but it hadn't really surprised him. Danny was always the guy who thought about others, especially those less fortunate than him. It was another reason Flack valued their friendship so deeply.

Now, sitting in his car parked beneath the crime lab, Flack was torn. After his conversation with Lindsay back at the crime scene, he knew he was part of something that was far more sinister than any of them had originally thought. Until today, Flack had held out hope that Danny had reported his missing badge and simply forgotten to mention it to him. He knew it was foolish of him to think like that, but he simply hadn't wanted to think about the other possibility. That Danny's badge was still out there somewhere in the hands of someone looking to cause trouble.

The big problem for Flack was that if the theft of the dog tags and the badge were connected, which seemed extremely likely, it meant that whoever was responsible was somehow connected to Shane Casey. Which was very very bad news for his friend.

Flack knew that he had no other option. He had told Lindsay back at the crime scene that he'd felt as if he had thrown Danny under a bus by just exploding at him and walking away as he had at the pawn shop. Well, now he would show Lindsay, Danny and himself that he was ready to help his friend crawl out from under that bus.

Flack got out of the car and pressed the button on his key chain to lock the doors behind him. Pocketing his keys, he walked to the elevator, all the while planning how he would approach Danny when he next saw him. He knew that even though he would hate to admit it, Danny would be scared. Not necessarily for himself, but for his friends and especially for his family. And Don would be there to make sure that he did whatever he could to help Danny protect his family.

Flack thought he heard the sound of a car approaching and raised head. He smiled to himself as he saw the familiar SUV that Danny drove when attending the scene of a crime pulling into the garage. The car stopped a ways down the aisle of cars, and Flack could just make out the outlines of Danny in the driver's seat, with Lindsay beside him in the passenger seat. He was about to make his way over to the vehicle to talk to his friends, but he saw that they were having what looked to be a very private discussion and decided to give them their space. He would talk to them upstairs later.

He turned the corner and arrived at the bank of elevators and pushed the call button. As he waited for the elevator to arrive and the doors to open, Flack found himself bouncing on the balls of his feet and fidgeting nervously. He laughed to himself and recalled Mac's words several years ago when they had been investigating the death of a high school guidance councillor. Flack had unconsciously uttered Danny's famous catch phrase - Boom - and Mac had told him that he had been hanging around with Danny too much.

Flack shook his head, a smile still spread across his face, when he heard another sound behind him. As he hadn't heard any other cars pull up while he was waiting, he assumed his friends had finished their conversation and were heading up to the lab as well. As he made a move to turn in the direction of the sound, he felt something hard come in contact with the back of his head. He clutched at the area of this head where he had been hit. He could feel a warm liquid trickling down his neck. Pulling his fingers away, he glanced down at them in confusion, his eyes widening in panic when he saw that they were covered in blood. His blood.

As he tried to process the sight in front of his eyes, he heard, rather than felt the second blow, and as he sank to his knees, hands out in front of him to brace his fall, everything went dark.

* * *

A/N: Dun dun dun! So, what do you think? Eek. Let me know. Pretty pretty please. Your wonderful reviews really make my day.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks once again for those of you who took the time to send me reviews. I thought that we were long overdue for some quality Danny and Flack - they are always such a great team, and I wanted to explore their relationship a bit more. This chapter is more about Mac's relationship with both Danny and Lindsay. I hope you enjoy it!

They don't belong to me. And it's just so unfair. We always want what we can't have ;)

* * *

The ride in the elevator was long and silent as the box made it's way smoothly upward. Danny and Lindsay Messer stood hand in hand, waiting. Lindsay glanced up at the numbers as they ticked away, indicating the floors they were passing on their journey, drawing them closer to the 35th floor. Back when they had first started dating, she and Danny had established a ritual. When they came into work together, they entered the building as a couple, hand in hand. When they passed the 33rd floor, they would give each other's hand a quick embrace, whisper a soft "I love you," then release their grip on one another. It was a physical manifestation of their mutual decision to keep their life together separate from their life at work, and it had always been a great comfort to both of them.

As they approached the 33rd floor, Lindsay prepared herself and began the familiar routine, gently squeezing Danny's fingers. However, his grip on her hand remained tight. She looked up at him, expecting to see him staring off into space, lost in thought, She was surprised to find him gazing down at their joined hands. She made another attempt to gently pry her fingers from his grasp.

Danny's hold on her hand stayed fast. Eyes still downcast, he rubbed his thumb idly across the back of her hand.

"I don't need a co-worker right now, Linds," he said softly. "I need my wife."

Lindsay looked at him for a moment. She knew that asking for help was hard for him, and she appreciated how difficult the last several months had been. Always having to seek help when something was out of reach or beyond his capabilities while he was recovering had frustrated him terribly. And now, when he was up and walking around, asking for help could still be intimidating for him.

She clasped his hand in hers a little tighter before relaxing enough to change her grip and interlace her fingers with his.

"You got her," she said.

They both turned their attention back to the numbers on the digital display as the elevator continued to ascend. When they reached the 35th floor, a soft _ding _signalled their arrival. Giving each other a final, gentle squeeze they stepped out of the elevator.

* * *

Mac Taylor had a pounding headache. The stress from the events of the past 24 hours was finally taking its toll on him. He sighed. He had just decided to head to the break room in search of some aspirin and a bottle of water when he heard the elevator chime. He watched as Danny and Lindsay Messer stepped out of the elevator, their hands intertwined in a rare display of physical affection at the office. Mac smiled to himself. In spite of what had transpired and been revealed to him this morning, he still had a soft spot for the couple out in the hall, who were currently looking around nervously.

When Danny looked up and caught Mac's eye, Mac nodded a silent invitation for Danny to enter his office. He watched as Danny turned to his wife and whispered something in her ear. She shook her head and he leaned over and placed a chaste kiss to her temple. Together they made their way towards Mac's glass-walled office.

Mac had always claimed that he didn't get involved in the personal lives of his employees. And he had stuck to that, as much as possible. But over the past few months, he had found that more and more difficult. He had been involved personally when Stella had become involved with a dangerous case involving a former mentor of hers, and had even gone so far as to chase her all the way to Greece. He had let Hawkes stay in his spare room on his pull-out couch when he had run into financial difficulties. He had watched as Adam had opened up to a young witness about his own OCD, and the challenges that he faced everyday

He had noticed Flack looking less and less professional, but had felt that it was not his place to interfere. He had noticed a growing distance between Danny and Flack, but had declined to comment because whatever the cause, it was none of his business. But when Flack had failed to report to work, during a time when they were in the midst of solving a baffling series of murders, Mac had decided that he had had enough. He had used precious lab resources to scour the city looking for him when he had gone AWOL, and he had confronted Flack himself in an effort to snap the young man back to reality, and hopefully keep him from sliding further away.

And then Mac considered Danny and Lindsay. He could not, in all honesty, say that he was not personally involved with these two. He was the godfather of their precious little girl, Lucy. And it had been Mac that Danny had confided in about his fears of being a father, and of letting Lindsay down. It was Mac that had told Danny his own regrets about missing out on fatherhood, and that he was confident in the young man's ability to be a great father. It was Mac who had stood beside Danny at his wedding, acting as both witness and Best Man. He remembered back to the day he had told Danny that love could happen to him, and had laughed when Danny had balked at such a ridiculous idea.

Mac didn't know the exact details of when they had become "official," because they had moved so seamlessly from platonic friendship, to playful flirting, to devoted couple. Mac had the sneaking suspicion that during Lindsay's first year with the NY Crime Lab there may have been some kind of illicit office pool – instigated by Don Flack, no doubt – betting on how long it would take the two obviously smitten coworkers to finally do something about their mutual attraction. But Mac didn't care when it had happened. He was just happy that two of the people he cared most about in the world had found each other.

Mac thought back to when Lindsay had first arrived. He had been so busy with the investigation, he hadn't had time to formally introduce himself , or anyone else, to her on her first day. When the tiny brunette woman had walked up to him in the tiger enclosure, he had simply given her instructions as to what he wanted her to do to assist him, and mentioned that Danny was looking after the scene.

Danny had looked up upon hearing his name and sauntered over to the new girl and introduced himself.

_That'd be me. Danny Messer. How you doing?_

Mac had thought at the time that he had been laying his accent on a little thick – whether it was to intimidate or impress her, Mac wasn't sure. However, he was sure that of all of Lindsay's new colleagues, Danny was going to be the biggest challenge for her. She wasn't just the new girl. She was the girl that was replacing his partner, and one of his very best friends, Aiden Burn. And he suspected that Danny was not going to make it easy on her.

After a few weeks, however, Mac had been able to relax. Thankfully their initial rivalry had turned into one of the strongest partnerships on the team. They worked well together with Danny's nervous energy complimenting Lindsay's patient thoughtfulness. They were both excellent investigators, and they definitely had their own individual styles, but they meshed well. Danny's was more physical - talking things out with his hands, bouncing on the balls of his feet, fidgeting with whatever he happened to be holding in his hands – until he got the answer he was looking for. Lindsay's was more subdued – grinning as she excitedly gave a "Lindsay Demonstration" as Danny affectionately called them, sitting with her brows furrowed in concentration while she examined something under a microscope, humming quietly to herself while waiting for GCMS to spit out test results – until she found some tiny shred of evidence that she knew would lock away a killer for good.

Mac had been pleased that these two had found each other, and he was terrified that they were going to lose what they had fought so hard to hang on to. He had seen them struggle with various situations over the years, and it seemed that the more pain one of them felt, the more they pushed the other away. Mac had been glad to see that when Jessica Angell had died, Danny and Lindsay had turned to each other for comfort. And when Danny had been shot, and ended up in that damn wheelchair, Mac had been happy to see Danny had not let his pride take over, and had accepted help from those around him, especially Lindsay. He didn't want that to end now.

* * *

Danny nervously gripped Lindsay's tiny hand in his larger one. When Mac had signalled for him to come to his office, Danny had gripped Lindsay's hand tighter. Knowing that this was the moment that he would have to start facing the consequences for what he'd done. What he'd concealed. He turned to Lindsay and whispered to her that he would meet up with her later in their shared office. Lindsay pulled back and shook her head, reaffirming her grip on his hand.

He smiled gently at the fierceness of his wife's devotion, and leaned forward to place a delicate kiss on her temple.

"Let's get this over with, Montana," he said.

When they approached Mac's door, Danny knocked out of habit, even though he knew that Mac could see him coming. When Mac beckoned them inside, he opened the door for Lindsay awkwardly, as she refused to release her grip on his hand.

Mac smiled half-heartedly at the pair of them as they entered the room.

"Sit down, guys," he said, indicating the black leather sofa opposite his large, intimidating desk.

As they sat down, Mac moved around the front of his desk and leaned against it, resting one hand on the flat surface beside him, and the other pinching the bridge of his nose in a last ditch attempt to relieve himself of the headache that was plaguing him.

The silence in the room was killing Danny. He desperately wanted to get up and pace around the room. He had to will himself not to pick something up off of the coffee table in front of him and fidget with it. His leg involuntarily bounced in an attempt to release some of his pent up nervous energy.

Dammit, why wasn't Mac saying anything? Danny knew Mac was mad, disappointed, hurt, frustrated, all those things. But it was so much easier to deal with a Mac that was stomping around and yelling than this calm, still, silent Mac. This was much much scarier to Danny. He had always been a mover. When he was excited he moved. When he was tired he moved. When he was happy, sad, angry, horny, frustrated, hell, even when he was hungry, he moved. So sitting there, trying not to move when it was completely against his nature was torture.

Finally Mac stopped pinching the bridge of his nose and lowered his hand down onto the desk beside him. He looked at Danny and Lindsay. He looked tired and stressed out. Danny felt terrible that this was his fault. That once again he had messed up and it was those around him that had to pay the price.

"Danny," Mac said, "I've talked to the chief and also to IAB. For the moment, you are assigned to desk duty and you will have to hand over your gun until a formal investigation has been completed. After that," he shrugged his shoulders, "I just don't know."

Danny nodded his head.

"You know the consequences for something like this, Danny," continued Mac. "You're smarter than this. Why didn't you reach out? Tell someone - anyone - what was going on?"

Danny hung his head in shame. He stared down at his shoes. His gaze drifted upwards to his knee where his and Lindsay's joined hands lay. He looked at his wedding ring and Lindsay's delicate fingers woven in with his.

"He did, Mac." Lindsay's voice was soft but strong.

Lindsay's heart was beating wildly in her chest. She had never been someone who dealt well with conflict. She tried to avoid it at all costs. But over the years, she had found that sometimes her avoidance cost too much. It had almost cost her Danny, long before they had even gotten together. She couldn't let that happen. He was too important to her to let him go through this all by himself.

"Linds," Danny pleaded, "please."

Mac looked back and forth between the pair of them, confusion and anger rising inside of him.

"What do you mean, 'he did'?" he asked, his voice dangerously low. "Lindsay?"

She took a deep breath and gently untangled her hand from Danny's so that she could rake her fingers through her hair as she gathered her thoughts. The tension in the room had obviously gotten to be too much for Danny, who had stood up and started pacing around the room the moment she released his hand.

She watched him as he interlaced his own fingers together and rested them on the top of his head as he moved restlessly around the room. She knew that he was upset, that he was scared, but at the end of the day, she knew that he would uphold his promise to stand by her no matter what her decision.

"A couple weeks ago, Danny told me that his back was hurting," she paused when Danny groaned at her admittance, knowing that he wanted as few people as possible to know that his back was still bothering him. She continued, "and I had heard from a friend about this acupuncture place that was supposed to be really good. So I suggested that Danny give it a try.

"A few hours later Danny called me to tell me that he had just been robbed. Someone had broken into his locker during his treatment and stolen his wallet, his dog tags and his badge."Lindsay looked up at Mac. He was staring down at her, his arms crossed across his chest, his face blank of all emotion.

"And what did you do, Lindsay?" Mac asked, again his voice low and un-emotive.

"I... I told Danny to come back to the lab, and we would figure something out together," she said quietly. She withered under Mac's intense scrutiny. His piercing gaze was drilling a hole right through her. She knew that he was disappointed in her, and for a moment she regretted her decision to confess her roll in the situation.

"And it never occurred to you, Lindsay, that reporting the badge right away would have been a better move?" he asked. "You didn't think, not even once, in the six weeks since the badge was stolen to do something? Anything?" he shook his head and looked away from her.

"And I suppose you knew about the fingerprint too, didn't you?" Mac asked. "Did you not think, either of you, about the consequences of that fingerprint?" his voice was steadily rising in volume, "If Shane Casey got his prints on Danny's dog tags, it's a logical conclusion that he was involved in the theft of the badge as well! He's a known killer, Lindsay. How many people out there are going to get hurt because of this? Two already died last night. Those deaths are on your hands, both of you!"

"Mac," she said, her throat constricting with the overwhelming weight of Mac's words, "I just... I thought..." her voice faltered all together as a tear slid down her cheek. She buried her face in her hands and bit her lip in an attempt to stop the sobs she knew were coming.

"That's not fair, Mac."

Mac sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face. He turned to look at Danny who was standing across the room, his hands clenched into fists by his side.

"It's the truth, Danny. The fact that both of you felt compelled to withhold this information from me, or anyone else that could have done something about it, has resulted in the deaths of those two boys."

"Watch it, Mac," Danny's voice was a low, dangerous rumble.

"Excuse me?"

"I said watch it," Danny warned. "You can say whatever you want about me. I don't care. Blame me. But if you think that I'm just going to stand here and let you speak to my wife like that, I swear to God, Mac..."

"What?" asked Mac, anger rising in his voice, "You'll what, Danny?"

Danny was struggling to keep his composure. He did not want to fight with Mac, but his instincts were kicking in. His instincts to protect Lindsay were fighting for dominance over the little voice in his head that was telling him to back down, keep cool, stay calm.

"Just leave her alone," he said quietly.

Mac and Danny stood, staring each other down for what seemed like hours, willing the other to be the first to look away. A stifled sob from Lindsay broke the spell, and both men turned to her in unison.

"Please, Mac," she begged between choking sobs, "Danny, this is hard enough without you two fighting. Please don't..." she faltered and finally broke down completely.

In an instant, Danny was at her side, gently stroking her hair, rubbing her shoulder, whispering soothing words into her ear.

"Baby, it's okay," he murmured, "it's okay. We'll be fine, Linds. Shhhh."

Mac looked at the couple in front of him, so obviously distressed, so obviously affected by what was happening, and so obviously standing by one another. His heart softened a bit. Yes he was pissed. They had kept vital information from him, and it hurt. But he knew it hadn't been done in malice, or with the intent to hurt anyone.

He moved from the front of the desk and sat on the coffee table, across from Danny and Lindsay. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks tear-stained as she looked up at him, her head resting on Danny's shoulder as she sniffed, trying to regain her composure. Danny had placed his arm protectively around his wife's shoulders and was looking at Mac warily.

"I'm sorry Lindsay. Danny."

Lindsay sniffed again, and Danny continued to hold her tightly, staring silently back at Mac.

"I know that you never expected something like this to happen. No one could have," he said, his voice softer and more tender than before. "I just wish that you, either of you, had trusted in me enough to come to me with this before anyone got hurt."

Hesitantly he reached out to place his hand on Lindsay's knee in a reassuring gesture.

"We'll get through this. All of us."

"Thank you, Mac," said Lindsay quietly. "I'm so sorry."

Their discussion was interrupted by a knock at the door. Mac removed his hand from Lindsay's knee and looked up.

"Hey, boss, hey Danny, Lindsay... um... so... uh, what's going on? You guys okay? Well, obviously you're not _okay _okay, because, you know, usually people don't cry when they're okay. But, um, you know, my mom used to cry when she was happy, so I guess that would be counted as crying when you're okay, but..."

"Adam. You wanted something?" asked Mac.

"What? Oh yeah," Adam Ross blushed nervously, shuffling from foot to foot, clearly awkward with the situation he had walked in on. "Um, I was just wondering if, um, if you guys had, you know, seen Flack? 'Cause he was all like, you know, waiting for evidence for his case, and he made, like, a big deal about getting it done fast, so, um, like I rushed it, right?"

Mac looked back at Danny and Lindsay. Danny had a bewildered look on his face and Lindsay was fighting to suppress a laugh.

"And?" inquired Mac.

"And? Oh! And, so, yeah. I've been calling him and calling him. But, like, he's not answering. So, you know, I thought you might know where he is?"

"He left the scene before I did, Adam. I don't know where he is," said Mac. "Maybe he's at the precinct. Have you called his desk?"

Adam nodded vigorously.

Mac looked at Danny who was frowning, deep in thought.

"Danny?" Mac asked.

"I don't know, Mac," he replied. "Just something in the back of my mind. And I can't quite put my finger on it, you know?"

Mac nodded, then turned to the jittery lab tech.

"Keep trying his cell, Adam. Maybe he's just out of range."

"Will do boss," Adam replied giving Mac an awkward salute, then turning and walking from the room.

Mac looked back at Danny.

"Something about Flack?"

"I don't know, Mac," he said furrowing his brow. "I just..."

Suddenly Danny's eyes went wide and he startled both Lindsay and Mac as he sprang up from the couch and sprinted out of the room toward the elevator.

"Danny?" Lindsay called out after him.

Mac and Lindsay quickly followed Danny out into the hall where he was standing at the elevator doors, frantically pushing the call button.

"Come on, come on!" he muttered to himself, "Dammit!"

The elevator wasn't coming fast enough. Cursing under his breath he left a confused Mac and Lindsay standing at the bay of elevators as he made for the emergency stairwell.

Slamming the door open, he pounded down the stairs taking them two at a time and leaping the last four or five of each flight, holding on to the railing as he flung himself around on the landing to tackle the next flight in the same way.

"Shit, shit, shit," he breathed, "please be wrong. Please don't be there. Please don't be there."

He was breathless as he launched himself to the bottom of the last flight. He flung open the door leading to the parking garage and looked around wildly.

"Shit!" he shouted. "Shit, shit, shit!"

Slowly, he walked toward the familiar vehicle. His hands clutching at his hair as he continued to curse. He wanted to punch something. God! He needed to punch something, anything right now. He squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his hands to his sides, alternately clenching and releasing them as he silently counted to ten in his head. Maybe it was all a dream. A bad hallucination. He was stressed. He was seeing things. If he opened his eyes, it would all go away. He'd be sitting at home playing with Lucy, or reading in bed with Lindsay, or having a beer with Flack.

Flack. Shit.

He cracked open his eyes only to see Flacks black sedan parked, as usual, in his assigned parking space. Danny felt bile rushing up his throat and had to fight hard to stop himself from vomiting. If Flack's car was here, that meant he had returned from the crime scene. He had been in the building. But he had never made it to the lab. That made his car and the entire parking garage a potential crime scene.

He heard the soft chime of the elevator and looked up in time to see Mac and Lindsay turning the corner, away from the bank of elevators, toward him.

"Danny, what the hell?" yelled Lindsay. "You scared the crap out of me. What are you doing down here?"

Danny had no words. He looked at Lindsay, then at Mac silently approaching behind her. He shook his head and looked at the car, then back to Lindsay, willing her to understand, so that he didn't have to say the words.

"What? Danny, stop it, you're scaring me," the panic was evident in her voice.

"It's Flack's car," said Mac. He looked up at Danny. "He was in the building!"

"When Linds and I drove in, we parked down that aisle, then walked up here. I couldn't put my finger on it, because nothing was wrong," explained Danny. "There was no reason that Flack's car shouldn't be here."

"And if he was here, why didn't he go straight to Adam about his evidence," said Mac, picking up on Danny's thoughts.

"Exactly. And add to that the fact that he's not picking up his phone? Mac, we all know that there is not a single inch of this building that does not get exceptional cell reception. He's not out of range if he's in this building. And there's no way he would turn his phone off if he was expecting Adam to call with an update on his evidence."

Danny turned and circled closer to Flack's car, looking for any sign of a struggle, any indication of his friend's whereabouts. As he moved around the side of the car toward the hood, he saw it. Tucked under the windsheild wiper was a piece of paper.

Pulling a pair of rubber gloves out of his jacket pocket, Danny leaned over and retrieved the note, his hands shaking slightly at the possibilities running through his mind. He opened it and read it slowly. Then he re-read it. Twice. The urge to vomit was now overwhelming him completely. He dropped the note on the hood of the car and turned and ran as far away from the vehicle as his legs could carry him before he wretche d.

Watching Danny's face go pale and his blue eyes flash with fear as he read the note in his shaking hands had been terrible for Lindsay. She watched in horror as he dropped the note and stumbled away, his hand over his mouth to try to hold off until he was sure he wouldn't contaminate the scene.

Against her better judgement, Lindsay walked toward the offending piece of paper. What could be so bad? she thought. She looked over to where Danny was straightening up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He turned to her just as she reached out her own gloved hand to retrieve the document he had just discarded.

As her fingers reached the edge of the paper, she heard Danny yelling something, but she was so close. She couldn't look away now.

As she picked up the paper, Danny's voice rang clearly in her ears and she turned to him. "No Lindsay! Please! Don't!"

What didn't he want her to see? Unable to resist the urge, she turned her gaze back to the item in her hand. As the images and words came into focus, she recoiled in horror and let out a blood-curdling scream.

* * *

A/N: It's going to be a few days before the next update. I am away until early next week visiting friends with NO INTERNET! Gaa! I just don't understand. Anyways, I'll try to get some writing done while I'm there, and update when I return to civilization! So, as a little present so that you don't go into withdrawal, I will give you a small hint of what was on that piece of paper... are you ready? Are you sure? Okay. Here it is...

**ONE DOWN. ONE TO GO.**

Dun dun dun! As always, please read and review. I hope that you are not getting tired of this story. I do have a thrilling conclusion planned not too far away. I hope to have this story wrapped up just in time for actual new episodes to start up again in April. Yay!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I'm back! You guys can't get rid of me that easily! So, I had an awesome time, good times with the friends. And I even managed to get a new chapter written for each of my stories!

Thank you all once again for your feedback. I'm glad that you are enjoying the story, and that you want more. Well, I aim to please, so without further ado, Chapter 5!!!

None of them belong to me. No matter how many tantrums I have or how hard I cry, CBS just won't give them up. They have some sort of bizarre attachment to them. Oh well. That's what Fan Fiction is for, right? :)

* * *

Danny stared down at the note resting on Mac's coffee table in front of him. It had been processed for fingerprints and other trace but they had found nothing. His mind was a whirl of thoughts and emotions. What had he ever done to deserve this? He looked over to where Mac was standing behind his desk shouting orders into the phone. After discovering Flack's disappearance and the note on his car, Mac had gone into full-out crime scene boss mode, his face a mask, his eyes hard and steely.

Danny sighed and looked down at the note again. He shivered as Lindsay's horrified scream echoed in his ears. Resting his elbows on his knees, he leaned down and covered his face with his hands, trying to get a hold of his emotions. Right now he was lost. He was a New York City detective. He dealt with crap like this everyday. But it had never been this personal before. And he was completely at a loss as to what he should do and how he should feel. And it terrified him.

"Danny?" Lindsay's timid voice was right beside him.

He looked up at her, taking in her pained expression. Her face was tear-stained and her eyes were still puffy from all the crying she had been doing. Her hand reached out for his and he let her take it, interlocking their fingers.

"Yeah Linds?"

"Where did that picture come from? I don't remember taking it."

"That's because you didn't. We didn't. Someone else did. Someone else took it without our knowing."

She looked at him, searching his eyes for information.

"When was it taken?"Danny looked again at the picture. His mind trolling back through the past few weeks until finally it hit on one specific day. Danny closed his eyes as he remembered.

It had been about six weeks ago, just before his badge had been stolen. Lindsay had been at work and Danny had been home with Lucy. After getting her ready that morning, he had heard a knock at the door.

"Gaa!" said Lucy, pointing excitedly at the door as she wobbled toward the entrance of their apartment on still-shaky legs.

"Whoa there, munchkin, you're still too little to be answering the door by yourself!" said Danny as he scooped her up, blowing raspberries on her belly and revelling in her delighted giggles as he carried her to the door. Peaking through the peephole, he turned to look at Lucy while unlocking the door and pulling it open. "You never know what kind of weirdo might be out there, right Lucy? Hey Don," he said smiling and holding the door open for his friend to enter.

"Hey Danno. Hey there little lady," Flack said, taking Lucy's tiny foot in his hand and tickling it, smiling down at her as she giggled and kicked in Danny's arms. Looking at Danny he said, "And I resent the implication that I'm some sort of weirdo, Messer. A little deranged maybe, but I'm mostly harmless."

"You keep telling yourself that, buddy," said Danny with a grin. "What brings you here this morning?"

"Nothing much. I got the day off and I thought I'd see what you were up to," he shrugged his shoulders and closed the door behind him, stepping into the apartment. "Figured we could hang out or something, unless of course you've got big plans with the new lady in your life."

"Nah, nothing much, right Luce?" replied Danny, once again lifting her up to blow a wet raspberry on her tummy. As she giggled and shrieked, Danny continued. "We were just going to head down to the park. After all the rain lately, I figured Lucy and I could do with some time out in the sunshine. Isn't that right Lucybear?"

Lucy responded by reaching out and grabbing Danny's nose in her tiny hand. "A bah!" she shouted.

"Sounds like fun. You guys mind if I tag along?"

Danny knew that although he tried to hide it, Don was still finding it hard to be alone after the devastating loss of Jessica Angell. His heart ached for his friend. He looked at Lucy in mock contemplation.

"Well, I don't know Don," he said. "It's really up to Miss Lucy here. What do you think, Luce?" he asked.

She responded by reaching out, grabbing Danny's dog tags and sticking them into her mouth, sucking happily as her gaze drifted between the two men.

"I'm not really sure, but I'm going to take that as a yes," said Danny, smiling down at his baby girl. "Just let me get Lucy ready and we'll head out. Make yourself at home for a few minutes."

"Thanks, man."

Danny had carried Lucy off to her bedroom to retrieve her socks and shoes and to get her warm jacket, hat and mittens. Don listened to his friend as he chatted to his daughter and smiled when he heard Lucy babbling away happily in response. He really was happy for Danny. He hadn't had it easy, especially in the last few years. A few years ago, the thought of Danny Messer in domestic, wedded bliss would have made Flack laugh, but today it only made him smile sadly. He had desperately wanted what Danny had with Lindsay, and he thought he had found it in Jess.

His thoughts returned to the present as he saw little Lucy, decked out in her fluffy winter gear come toddling down the hall toward him, her arms out to the side to steady her. She was laughing hysterically as she threw herself at Don's legs then looked up and raised her arms, indicating that she wanted to be picked up.

"Ah! A gaa!" she said.

"Oh really, is that so?" said Don as he picked up the tiny girl and held her in his arms. She reached out and grabbed his ear.

"Hey, you got Lucy out there?" Danny's voice carried from his and Lindsay's bedroom.

"Yeah, Dan. I got her."

"Kay. I'm just gonna get dressed and then we'll go."

When Danny emerged from the bedroom, he loaded Lucy into her stroller and they left the apartment. As they emerged into the sunlight, Danny had pointed things out to Lucy, trying to get her to say them back to him.

"Look Lucy. A bird."

"Bah."

"Good girl! And what's that? It's a bus."

"A bah," said Lucy.

"Close enough," said Danny laughing. "And what's that, sweetie? That's a car."

"Bah."

Flack laughed at the pair's conversation. "Danny there's no rush for her to talk today. She'll do it when she's ready."

Glaring at his friend Danny said, "You sound like Lindsay. But you guys just don't understand. My Lucy is gonna be a genius, aren't you Lucybear?"

"Bah."

Flack doubled over with laughter and tears welled up in his eyes at the priceless expression on Danny's face.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing, man," said Flack, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand and trying with moderate success to stifle any further laughter. "It's just, you know. She's so adorable. And you're such a dork."

"I don't know what's so funny. I got big plans for Lucy," said Danny. "We got a deal, she's going to be a straight-A student and go Ivy League. And in return I won't shoot the first boy she brings home."

They continued on their walk, Lucy babbling away in her stroller and Danny and Flack talking animatedly. It had been a few weeks since they had really had a chance to catch up.

When they reached the park, Danny took Lucy out of her stroller and put her feet on the ground. Allowing her to hold tightly to his fingers with her tiny hands, they walked toward the playground. Lucy had been delighted to have not only her daddy's undivided attention, but also Flack's as both men took turns going down the slide with Lucy held securely on their laps.

After Flack and Lucy's last run, Lucy pointed excitedly at the swing.

"Dah!" she exclaimed. "Dah dah dah!"

Don looked over at Danny who's head snapped up at his daughter words. "What did you say, baby?" he asked, his voice awestruck.

"Dah dah?" said Lucy again.

"Oh my God! Flack! Did you hear that?" said Danny excitedly. "She said Dada! She said my name! That's her first word! Holy crap, I gotta call Linds."

Delighted at the response she had gotten from her father, Lucy continued to chant the magic syllable over and over as Danny phoned Lindsay, his fingers stumbling over the numbers on his phone in excitement.

"Lindsay Messer," her voice rang out over the phone.

"Babe, oh my God, guess what?" Danny shouted into the phone.

"Whoa! Danny?" Lindsay's voice was tinged with worry. "Slow down, I can't understand you. Is everything okay? What's wrong?"

"What? No, nothing's wrong, babe. Lucy just said her first word," he explained, "and guess what it was?"

He heard the smile in his wife's voice. "She did? Oh my God, Danny! What did she say?"

"Here, I'll put her on. Just listen!"

He walked over to where Flack was still standing holding Lucy. "Come on, baby. Tell mommy what you said." As Danny held the phone out for her, Lucy looked at him and grinned. "Dah dah. Dah dah dah dah dah."

"Oh my God! Danny, that's amazing!" squealed Lindsay over the phone. "Oh, I wish I was there with you guys right now. But I gotta get back to work."

"Okay. We'll call you again later, sweetheart. I love you."

"Love you too, Danny. Kiss Lucy for me."

As he hung up, Danny looked up at Flack, his face beaming with pride. "Told ya. She's gonna be a genius."

A sad smile tugged at the corners of Danny's mouth as he heard Lindsay's voice cutting across his thoughts.

"Danny? Do you know when that picture was taken?" she asked.

"Yeah," he cleared his throat trying to stay in control, "it, uh, it was taken the day that Lucy said her first word."

Lindsay's eyes welled up with fresh tears and together they turned to look at the picture. Flack was holding Lucy and a beaming Danny was holding his phone up for her to speak into. It was a perfect picture, full of happiness. The only flaws were the large, coarse red X that crossed out Don Flack's face and the terrifying red circle that encircled Lucy's face and Danny's hand holding the phone.

Danny reread the note.

_Three years ago you took my brother from me.  
__You took the faith I had in him.  
You killed my memories of him.  
So now I'm going to take something from you.  
I'm going to give you the pain that you gave me.  
One down, Messer. One to go._

Three years ago, thought Danny.

Shane Casey had been arrested for the Code-Con murders, then escaped from police custody before he was even put in lock-up. A few months later, almost exactly three years ago, he had returned. His grand plan had been to frame Danny's friend and co-worker Sheldon Hawkes for the murder of a bartender based on eyewitness testimony alone. Exactly like what had happened to his brother. Except Sheldon Hawkes was innocent, and Casey's brother had been guilty. And it had been Danny that had had the unenviable job of proving that guilt to Shane Casey himself.

It had been an off-the-cuff comment that had drawn Shane Casey to Danny Messer. After the team had cracked Shane's code and solved the Code-Con murders, he and Flack had chased Casey down and were driving back to the precinct. Flack was driving, Danny was in the front passenger seat, and Casey had been sitting sullenly in the backseat, staring out into the passing streets.

_I know a thing or two about going to bat for your brother._

Danny wished now that he had never uttered those words. They had been sitting in silence, and Danny had started talking. To this day, he still didn't know why. Maybe it was because Shane reminded him of himself. Ashamed of what his brother had done, trying with all his heart, mind, and soul to convince himself that it just couldn't be true. The difference between them was in how they had come to terms with their brothers.

Danny had always had a rough relationship with his brother. Louie had always been getting into trouble. He had always made Danny feel as though he wasn't good enough, or strong enough to hang with him and the Tanglewood boys. And it meant that the brothers hadn't spoken to each other in almost 15 years. It hadn't been until Louie had sacrificed himself to save Danny from Sonny Sassone, though, that Danny had realized how much his brother had done to keep Danny from making the same mistakes, and how much Louie had truly loved him.

Shane, on the other hand, had said he had a good relationship with his brother. So when his brother told him that he was innocent of the murder he was accused of, Shane had believed him without question. When his brother died, Shane had vowed revenge on the people he felt were responsible for his death. He had viciously murdered people who had been involved in the accusations against his brother and sent the entire NYPD police force on a wild goose chase through a labyrinth of clues. And when he'd been caught, he'd vowed revenge on the police department he felt had now wronged both his brother and himself.

Danny realized now that his small act of kindness while riding back to the station with Flack and Casey had basically plastered a bull's-eye onto his forehead. When Casey had been discovered as the mastermind behind the framing of Sheldon Hawkes, it was Danny that had been singled out. Danny that Shane Casey had turned to in a final attempt to clear his brother's name.

And when Danny had arrived at the dilapidated bar, with evidence to prove his brother's guilt, Casey had been devastated. It was evident, now, that he had Danny in his sights. And if history was bound to repeat itself, Shane Casey had big plans for Danny Messer.

"Hey, Mac!" Adam Ross came barrelling into the office, "oh, hey guys," he said, turning to Danny and Lindsay.

"What is it Adam?" Mac inquired.

"They found him!"

"What!" exclaimed Danny standing up. "They found Shane Casey? Where?"

"What? Oh... no, um... sorry Danny," Adam stammered, "uh, no they, um, they found that Vandemann kid. The one that Mac met up with the other night." Seeing the disappointed look on Danny and Lindsay's faces, he continued, "I'm, um, sure, you know, that, um, that Flack's, you know, that he's okay. He... he can take care of himself." He offered them a shy smile of apology for the misunderstanding.

"Thank you, Adam," Mac said, dismissing the young lab tech.

"Yeah, you know, no problem Mac." Turning, Adam left the office scurrying off to his lab.

"I'm going to go down and talk to Vandemann," said Mac. Turning to the distraught couple in front of him he asked, "Any luck getting hold of Danny's mom? Is Lucy okay?"

"Yeah, Mac," replied Danny, "I called my ma and told her that two unis would be dropping by to pick her and Lucy up. They're bringing them both back here for now. Should be here in about half and hour."

Mac nodded in approval. "Good. You two sit tight. I'm going to talk to this kid, see what we can get out of him. I'll keep you posted."

"Thanks Mac," said Lindsay.

As Mac walked out of the office, Lindsay turned to Danny, gripping his hand tightly.

"He's going to be okay, you know that, right? Adam's right, he can take care of himself."

Danny grimaced, "Linds, please don't. I know Shane Casey. He's not like other people. His mind doesn't work the same way. He's sick, you know? He wouldn't try to take Flack down if he wasn't absolutely sure of every last detail. It doesn't matter how tough or smart Flack is. Shane Casey is deranged, and there's no way to defend yourself against that.

"And I have a bad feeling about this thing with Lucy" he continued. "It almost seems too easy. We just call my mom and have her bring Lucy here? You don't think that Casey would have planned for that?"

"Danny," said Lindsay cautiously, "what are you getting at?"

"I'm just, I'm thinking out loud here, Linds," said Danny, once again burying his face in his hands. "But I think it's a trap."

Lindsay was thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe one of us should go with the officers to pick them up, just in case. Make sure everything's okay?"

He looked up at her. "Yeah? Yeah. Maybe that's a good idea."

"I'll go," said Lindsay. "You stay here and see what Mac gets out of Vandemann. I love you, Danny," she pressed a kiss to his temple. "It's going to be okay."

Danny nodded his head absentmindedly, "Love you too." As Lindsay left the room, Danny stared down at the note again. Something was still bothering him. Something about the picture was wrong. He just needed to figure out what it was.

* * *

"It's alright son. No one is going to hurt you. We just need to find out who did this to your friends." Mac had spent the better part of twenty minutes trying to get Cam Vandemann to open up to him, but no luck. He could feel the blistering headache from earlier starting to build behind his eyes once more.

"How can you be so sure that no one is going to hurt me?" shouted Vandemann. "It was one of you damn pigs that killed my friends and then attacked me! Sorry if trusting cops is not high on my list of things that I'm crazy about right now," he scoffed.

Mac sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger and held it there until the pain in his head subsided just a bit. Then he looked up and turned his gaze from the frightened young man in front of him to the two-way mirror. He was fairly certain that behind that mirror stood another young man who was just as frightened.

Danny knew that Mac couldn't see him behind the glass. He also knew that despite the fact that he had crept into the observation room after Mac had already started the interview with Vandemann, that Mac knew that he was watching. Even so, he was shocked when Mac stopped pinching the bridge of his nose and looked from Vandemann to the exact spot Danny was standing behind the mirror.

He watched as Mac excused himself from the room, opened the door and temporarily disappeared from sight after the door to the interrogation room closed behind him. His nerves must have been completely shot, because even though he knew it was coming, he jumped when the door to the observation room opened and Mac Taylor stepped through the door.

The two men stood and stared at each other for a while. Danny shifted uncomfortably, while Mac stood stock still while he observed the younger Detective.

"Danny," he finally broke the silence, "I need your help."

Danny blinked. "What? Uh, sure thing Mac. What do you need me to do?"

Mac turned his head and looked through the glass at the back of the man sitting sullenly at the table. Then he looked back at Danny.

"I need you to talk to Vandemann."

"What? No way. No way, Mac!" said Danny.

"Danny, I wouldn't ask if I thought there was any other way."

"Mac, you told me only a few hours ago that I had to stay as far away from this investigation as I could get. Not only that," continued Danny, "but you stuck me on desk duty until this whole thing is either cleared up or…" Danny's voice wavered, "or I lose my job."

Mac nodded his head. "I know Danny. And I wish I could say I was sorry, but did I really have any other choice? Your refusal to ask for help not only endangered yourself, but the integrity of this lab, your coworkers and friends, and even more disturbingly, your family. Do you really think that shows good judgement, Danny?" asked Mac. "What would you have had me do? Huh?"

Danny's face turned red with shame. He dropped his gaze to his shoes and his shoulders slumped. "I wasn't thinking about me, Mac," his voice came out much more quietly than he had anticipated. "I just didn't want to make anyone else have to deal with this mess. I didn't want to be a burden" Danny squeezed his eyes shut and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, willing himself not to give away any more emotion to Mac than he already had.

"You have no idea, Mac. No idea at all, how it feels to know that you're a burden to the people that you care about most in the whole world. When I was in that chair, I was like a dead weight on everyone's shoulders. I could see it in their eyes. And I hated it, Mac. I hated it so much. Every time I had to ask someone else to finish an experiment for me because I couldn't reach the equipment properly, or when I had to get someone to reach down supplies because they were up too high, or even down too low," Danny took a deep shuddering breath and continued. "A few times I even had to ask someone to help me go to the bathroom. Do you know how humiliating that is? For me and for them?"

Mac stared at Danny, who still had yet to make eye contact with him since he began his speech. Although Mac knew he was frustrated during his time in the wheelchair, Mac had thought that Danny had done well and kept his spirits relatively high. He had no idea that all of this had been weighing Danny down. And he said so.

"I'm sorry Danny. I had no idea. I was just so glad that you were alive that I didn't really give a thought to what the whole experience must have been like for you."

"You wanna know the worst part? It was watching Lindsay take everything on herself and try to make like it was no big deal, you know? She was looking after Lucy, looking after me, looking after our apartment, and working. And whenever I tried to tell her to let me do something, she would tell me not to worry. But she was having nightmares, Mac, and there was nothing I could do about it. She wouldn't talk to me – said that I had enough to deal with already. I just didn't want to make a big deal about it, for her sake. It would be too much."

"Danny, I know you, and I know Lindsay. You both want what's best for the other, and I can see that it hurts you both to see the other in pain. But you could have both come to me. I would have done whatever I could to help make this right. Anyone here at the lab would have done the same."

"Yeah, well," said Danny sullenly, "I promised myself that no matter what happened, once I got out of that chair, I was not going to be a burden to anyone else. And I guess I messed that up too."

Mac sighed again.

"Danny, none of this changes the fact that I need your help right now."

Danny finally looked up at Mac, realizing that he was fighting a losing battle.

"What do you want me to do, Mac?" he asked.

"I just want you to go into the room and identify yourself. See what kind of reaction we get. Maybe if he meets the real Detective Messer, he'll realize that we're not all out to get him, and he'll open up for us."

Mac watched Danny closely for any reaction to his suggestion. When Danny appeared to be lost in thought, he continued.

"I also want you to show him this," he said as he handed a folder to Danny.

Danny took the offered folder and opened it. Looking down he saw that it contained a photographic "line-up" of potential suspects. One photograph stood out to Danny from all the others. It was a photo of Shane Casey.

"Maybe, once he knows that you weren't the guy that attacked him the other night, Vandemann will be willing to cooperate more with us," explained Mac. "Show him the photos and ask him if any of these men resemble the one who attacked him."

Danny closed his eyes and breathed deeply in an attempt to gather his thoughts. When he opened them, he took one last look at the pictures in his hand, then he glanced at Mac before nodding his head and leaving the room. He turned and walked to the closed door of the interrogation room. With a hand on the doorknob, he took one last deep, steadying breath before turning the knob and entering the room.

Vandemann looked up at the sound of the door opening. Expecting to see the same dark-haired detective he had been speaking to earlier, he was surprised to find himself staring at a much younger man with blue eyes and messy blondish hair. The man gave him a brief nod of greeting, then entered the room completely and sat down at the table, opposite to Vandemann.

"Cam Vandemann?" asked the man.

"Yeah. What?" he asked.

"Mr. Vandemann, my name is Detective Messer."

Vandemann's eyes widened when he heard the detective identify himself.

"What?" he sputtered. "Who? What?"

Vandemann was embarrassed at his own inability to form a coherent sentence. But he was shocked. This had to be some kind of trick. These cops were looking for a way to play him, and he was sure as hell not going to go along with this sick game.

"Mr. Vandemann? I said my name is Detective Danny Messer. I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes, if I could."

Vandemann waited while his racing pulse returned to a more normal rhythm. He stared long and hard at the man sitting across the table from him. He looked sincere. But cops were tricky, and he was sure that this guy was just trying to get a reaction out of him.

"Talk all you want, _detective_," said Vandemann, with a heavy emphasis on the last word. "I have nothing to say to you."

The detective looked at him, his blue eyes piercing through Vandemann until he was forced to look away.

"Mr. Vandemann," said the detective, "I can understand that you're feeling frightened and you're not sure who to trust here. But I assure you: this is no game. This is no joke."

Vandemann looked down to the table when he heard the sound of something plastic being slid across the cold metal table toward him. The detective was pushing an id card toward him. On the card were the words NYPD Crime Lab: Detective Danny Messer, and below that was a picture of the man across the table from him. Except the picture was different.

In the picture the man was smiling. Vandemann raised his eyes to take in the man sitting opposite him. He was not smiling. He was trying to hide it, and almost succeeding, but his eyes were sad, and there was something else. Vandemann thought it must be his frayed nerves playing tricks on him, but frankly the man looked terrified.

Tapping the id card on the table between them with his index finger, the detective continued.

"My name is Danny Messer. I work for the NYPD Crime Lab. I am a Detective with the NYPD. And just over a month ago, my badge was stolen. Mr. Vandemann, I want to find out who did this to you. And to me."

Danny watched Cam Vandemann as he processed Danny's statement. He hoped that by showing that he also had a reason to get this guy, that Vandemann would start to trust him – realizing that they had a common goal.

Vandemann shifted in his seat and looked up at Danny.

"So, if you're Detective Messer, who was that whack-job that murdered my friends?"

"That's what we want to find out, Mr. Vandemann," said Danny, "and we need your help to do that."

Danny motioned down to the folder that lay on the table in front of him.

"I have some pictures of possible suspects, and I would like it if you could take a look at them and see if any of the people in the photos look familiar."

Vandemann looked from Danny, down to the folder, then back up to Danny. He looked like he was carefully considering his options. Finally, he came to a decision and Danny was relieved to see him nod his head.

"Okay. Let me have a look."

Danny smiled and pushed the closed folder towards Vandemann, who moved to pull it closer to himself. When he had it directly in front of him, Vandemann flipped open the folder and stared intently down at the six pictures lined up in front of him. Danny was pleased to see that he was carefully examining each picture, before moving on the next.

When he came to the fifth picture on the page, he froze.

"Hey, I know this guy," he said, tapping the photograph and turning the page under his fingertips so that Danny could get a clear look at who he was referring to. Danny leaned forward in his seat and when he saw the photo that Vandemann had singled out, he froze.

"Are you sure, Cam?" asked Danny.

"Hell yeah," said Vandemann. "I'd know that crazy son of a bitch anywhere. He used to hang out at this bar near my place… but you know, I haven't seen him there in a long time. Guy was really squirrelly. Used to go on for hours about his brother – apparently he got arrested for some murder, and died in prison. Wanted me and my partner to do a story on how his brother was innocent – framed by the police or something."

Danny looked up from the picture of Shane Casey staring back at him from under Vandemann's finger. He looked past Vandemann and saw his own reflection staring back at him. He looked tired. And stressed. And old. He scrubbed his face with his hands, then turned back to Cam Vandemann.

"This picture is of Shane Casey. Was he the guy that attacked you the other night?" asked Danny.

"Nah," replied Vandemann.

Danny waited while the young man appeared to be collecting his thoughts. Vandemann's eyes moved back and forth between the picture of Shane Casey and a random spot on the table between himself and Danny. Danny could practically hear the wheels grinding as he thought something through.

"You know what?" asked Vandemann.

"No, what?" replied Danny.

"Looking at this picture here, of this nut job, it reminds me. Like I said, I used to see this Casey guy at this bar near my place. But he stopped showing up a couple years ago. Heard some rumour that he was involved in some kind of attacks on campus, and that he tried to kill a cop, or something."

Danny sat up straighter in his chair and looked intently at Vandemann, giving him his complete and undivided attention now.

"And?" prompted Danny.

"And," continued Vandemann, "I remember this guy always hanging around the bartender. His name was... damn. I used to tease him about his name all the time. It was such a weird name."

Vandemann was deep in thought for a moment, then he looked at Danny with a grin.

"His name was Finnegan. Finn Hasnard."

Danny thought for a moment. That name sounded so familiar. Where had he heard it before?

"What bar is it that you're talking about, Cam?" asked Danny.

"I can never pronounce the name right," said Vandemann. "It's some Irish name that's totally unpronounceable. I do remember that they had really awesome beer though. Especially on St. Patrick's Day. Finn was always going on and on about how they made all their beer organically, and on St. Patty's they used to use this all-natural plant-based stuff to turn their beer green."

Suddenly, it hit Danny. The bar. He and Lindsay had been in that bar only the day before. They had narrowed it down because it was the only bar in New York City that used a special kind of algae to turn their organic beer green for St. Patrick's Day. And the name of the bartender that they had spoken to was Finn Hasnard.

Shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts, Danny turned his attention back to Vandemann.

"So what was it about Finn that you wanted to tell me?"

"Well, when I saw this picture, it reminded me that this Casey guy and Finn had been close," said Vandemann. "And the last time that Charlie and Phil and I were in that bar, we had been down at the end, talking about the details of this big story we were working on, about counterfeit gold bars."

Vandemann looked at Danny.

"Finn Hasnard. That is the guy. He's the one who attacked me. He's the guy that shot Phil and beat the crap out of Charlie."

Mac was impressed. He had sent Danny in to talk to Vandemann because he felt that if Vandemann met the real Detective Messer, he might be a bit more comfortable with the idea that the police were not out to get him. He knew that Danny was a skilled interrogator, but he had not counted on this. He smiled to himself as he continued to watch the interview take place in front of him.

Danny was looking intently at Vandemann.

"Are you sure it was Finn that you saw?"

Vandemann nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm positive," he said. "I thought I recognized him, but because it was kind of dark, and he was wearing the uniform, I didn't put the pieces together until just now. It's kind of like deja vu, you know?"

"Good," said Danny. "We'll check into your story more closely, and follow up with Finn Hasnard. Before I go, is there anything else? About either Finn or Casey that you want to go over?"

"Well, I remember that when his Casey guy used to hang around, him and Finn were real tight, you know? Whenever Casey would start on about his brother again, Finn was the only one who could get him to calm down," said Vandemann. "I remember I hadn't seen Casey in a long time, and he showed up at the bar one day, totally out of the blue. I was surprised to see him, because I'd been hearing rumours that he'd been arrested for some kind of attacks, but here he was hanging out at his old bar. Man, he looked like total crap. Like he'd been living in a dumpster or something. I don't know. Anyways, he started drinking and telling everyone that he was finally going to clear his brother's name. Finn was trying to get him to shut up, but Casey kept going on and on. The more he drank, the louder he got. He was shouting about making lab rats jump through hoops. Crazy stuff like that."

"Cam, when was this?" asked Danny, his heart pounding loudly in his chest.

"About three years ago, I think." replied Vandemann.

Three years ago, Danny thought for the second time that morning. A sharp knock on the glass alerted Danny to the fact that Mac wanted to talk to him. He gathered the folder in his hands and excused himself from the room.

"Hey, detective?" Vandemann asked.

"Yeah?"

"Good luck, huh," he said. "Just watch yourself cause, you know, that Casey guy, he's a real psycho."

"Thanks kid," Danny said as he closed the door behind him. He entered the observation room, finding Mac pacing around nervously.

"Boss? What's up?" asked Danny handing the folder over to Mac.

Mac looked up at Danny, his expression wary. "Lucy and your mother are here. They're in my office with Stella."

"Great Mac. Thanks," said Danny, turning to go upstairs to see his daughter.

"Danny?" the tone of Mac's voice pierced Danny's heart. Something was wrong.

"What, Mac?" Danny asked, panic rising in his chest.

"Finn Hasnard was just found dead. He still had your badge and we're sending it to trace for examination."

Danny breathed out a sigh of relief. He had been expecting the worst. He smiled at Mac, but his smile faltered when he saw that Mac's iron mask was crumbling.

"Lindsay never showed up at your mothers. Danny, I can't get her on her cell. We don't know where she is."

* * *

A/N: Oooh! Plot twist!!!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I made it extra long as a show of my unending gratitude for your support. As always, thanks for reading, and remember to review!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you once again for the encouraging reviews! I'm so glad that you are enjoying the story so far, and I am just overwhelmed by your support. Thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I own no one. CBS refuses to share. So I will just continue to borrow them for now...

* * *

There was darkness. And a faint throbbing at the back of her head. She tried to reach around to touch the painful lump she was sure had formed there, but found that her hands were unable to move. Her hands were bound and her arms raised above her head, tied to something keeping them in suspension. She realized that her shoulders were aching from the strain of her position. Why was it so dark?

She could hear the rhythm of her own breathing and the frantic beat of her own heart pounding in her ears. She tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down. Where was she? How had she gotten here? She tried to remember.

The last thing she remembered was leaving Danny in Mac's office. She had kissed him and told him that everything was going to be alright and that she loved him. He had mumbled a response that had sounded like "I love you too," but it was clear that his mind was elsewhere. He had been worried about Lucy and his mother and worried about Don and what might have happened to him. She had walked out to the elevator, taking one last glance back at her husband as he continued to study the note on the table in front of him.

As she rode down the elevator, she had taken her cell out of her pocket with the intention of calling her mother-in-law to let her know that she would be arriving, probably just after the uniformed officers, to bring her and Lucy to safety. She had stopped and looked down at her phone before dialling, smiling at the picture that she had set as the background on the tiny screen. She had taken it without Danny's knowledge, and it was one of her very favourite pictures. Danny, asleep on the couch, had Lucy curled up on his chest, also sound asleep. Father and daughter, the two great loves of her life, slumbering peacefully. Both of their features relaxed and worry-free.

As the elevator doors opened at the parking garage level, Lindsay began to dial the familiar number of Maria Messer and was about to hit the call button when she became aware of movement in her peripheral vision. Before she could react, she felt a blow to the back of her head and everything went dark.

Darkness. She knew that she was no longer in the parking garage. The familiar smell of the garage - vague scents of gasoline and cement - had been replaced by another aroma. It was somewhat familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. It was earthy, and tangy but she couldn't place it.

She blinked her eyes and felt her eyelashes brush against fabric. That explained the darkness. She had been blindfolded at some point. A rush of panic set through her. What was going to happen to her? Was Lucy okay? Where was she? Who brought her here? How was she going to get out? She let out a small moan of frustration.

"Who's there?"

The familiar voice came out of the darkness to her left. Her panic lifted slightly as she realized that she was not alone, wherever she was.

"Don?" she asked. "Is that you?"

"Oh my God! Linds?" Don Flack's voice broke with emotion. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Lindsay sensed the panic in his voice, his accent thick and his words rushing out, tripping over one another in his haste to make sure she was unharmed.

"I'm okay, Don," she said. "I'm not hurt, not really. Just a bump on the head, I think. And my shoulders hurt. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Don't worry about me. I've had worse."

Lindsay knew that he was referring to the blast that had nearly killed Flack a few years ago. He and Mac had been trapped in a building that had exploded while they were investigating a murder. Flack had taken some shrapnel into his stomach and had nearly bled out before the two men had been rescued. Mac had used some basic first aid techniques to stop the bleeding so that Flack could be moved, and once he was safely in the hospital it had taken several surgeries and six weeks of recovery before he was back on his feet.

Lindsay had been outside the building when the explosion had gone off, and her heart had jumped into her throat when she heard the explosions go off, knowing that her two friends were still inside. She had a minor cut on her forehead and some ringing in her ears, but was otherwise unscathed. She smiled as she remembered how Danny had fussed over her, ensuring that she get herself checked out by the EMT before he had gone inside the building himself to rescue his trapped colleagues.

The incident had taken place long before she and Danny had gotten together, but looking back she felt that it was at that time that their true feelings for one another had finally started bubbling to the surface. His concern for her had been touching, and she realized as he had turned and walked into the still-smoking building that she could have lost him if there had been another explosion or if the floor had collapsed, and it had made her almost sick with worry.

Together they had visited Flack in the hospital as he recovered. She remembered how he had teased them, wondering how they had arranged their schedules so that their visits to him always coincided. He had given them knowing looks, and she and Danny had teased him back that he should keep his mouth shut when it was clearly the painkillers talking.

She realized that now was not the time to reflect on these memories. She had a job to do. She had to work with Flack to figure out where they were, and find some way of getting themselves out, or at least found.

"Don," she asked, "I was passed out until a few minutes ago. I don't remember getting here... wherever here is. Do you remember? Do you know where we are?"

She heard Don sigh beside her. "No, I don't, Linds. I'm sorry," he said. "Same as you, I woke up already blindfolded and tied up."

"Okay," said Lindsay, trying to clear her head and think practically. "Where are we?" She was talking more to herself than to Don. "What is that smell? It smells like... earth. It smells like... grass? No... some kind of plant. It's not a flower. What is it? Its... Argh! Its on the tip of my tongue. But I can't quite..."

"Linds!" said Flack excitedly. "I know what it is! It was driving me crazy, but I think I know what it is! It's hops."

"Hops? What?"

"That earthy, kind of sharp smell? It's beer. Lindsay, I think we're in some kind of brewery, or at least in the cellar of a brew house or something."

Lindsay inhaled deeply. Flack was right. The smell that had seemed both familiar and elusive was beer. And it wasn't beer in cans. These were barrels of beer. Home brewed. Possibly organic...

The bar! The bar she and Danny had visited only the other day. That is why the scent memory was so strong in her. She had smelled it only the other day, and it was a unique aroma, composed of the organic ingredients of the bar's original brews.

"I think I know where we are, Don."

* * *

Danny was pacing back and forth in Mac's office. In his arms he held tightly to his little girl. His little Lucy. His and Lindsay's little Lucy. At the thought of his wife, he felt his throat close up in emotion once again. He breathed deeply, pressing a kiss to Lucy's soft head.

"It's okay baby," he murmured into her hair. "It's okay. It's all gonna be okay. Mommy's gonna be fine. And so is Uncle Don. You'll see. Everything's going to be okay."

Mac watched Danny warily. He knew that Danny was only just holding it together. In one day he had faced the loss of his best friend and his wife, as well as the possibility of losing his baby girl. He was on the brink of losing his job, and his whole life was falling down around him. Mac knew from experience that Danny was strong enough to get through this. But he was not sure whether or not Danny was aware of his own strength. Would he survive if the worst happened? He would need the support of the whole team to cope with the devastating losses. But there was a little girl that needed her daddy to keep it together.

Screw that, thought Mac. That little girl needed both of her parents. And thinking about the worst possible outcome was not going to make that happen. They needed a plan. They needed to find Lindsay and Don, and they needed to do it soon.

"Danny, honey?" Maria Messer's voice broke through the silence of the room. Danny briefly stopped his pacing, still cradling Lucy close to him and looked at his mother, seated on the couch. "You need to calm down, _mio amore_. You're making Lucy nervous. And you're driving me crazy." She smiled up at him, trying to be reassuring.

Danny looked down at his daughter. Her head was resting on his shoulder, her big blue eyes were wide, and she was sucking her thumb, something she only did when she was very upset. Danny stopped his pacing and sat down on the leather couch beside his mother. He breathed deeply to calm himself down and try to regain his composure. He stroked the little girl's head and rubbed her back. "Sorry, baby," he soothed. "Daddy's sorry, sweetie. It's okay. Daddy's here. Everything's going to be okay. We're going to be okay."

"Danny?" Mac asked tentatively.

Danny responded by looking up at Mac. He continued to murmur soothing words into his daughters ear, but kept his eyes locked on Mac.

"Danny, we need to figure out what's going on here. We need to try and find out where Don and Lin... where they were taken, and what Casey's plans are."

Danny nodded his head. "Ma, could you take Lucy for a few minutes? You guys can hang out in mine and Linds's office. Some of Lucy's toys should be in the bottom drawer of Linds's desk." Danny stopped as his voice broke. "She... she keeps them there in case we have to bring Luce in for a bit. That way we don't have to drag a bunch of her toys all over town. She's good at thinking of stuff like that."

Maria looked at her son and her heart broke. He was clearly dying inside, fighting hard to keep it together for Lucy. She knew that he was strong. He had lost people close to him in the past and made it through eventually. But this? There was only so much suffering that one person could endure.

She thought fondly of the woman that had captured her son's heart. She had realized early on that Danny thought of Lindsay Monroe as more than just a co-worker. He never stopped talking about her, and he desperately tried to better himself, to make himself more worthy of her. She had always been proud of her son, her baby, who had gotten himself up and out of their neighbourhood. Her boy who had made more of himself than anyone had ever thought possible. But when he had brought Lindsay home to meet his parents for the first time, her heart had swelled with such pride at the complete love and devotion she had seen reflected in his eyes.

Over time she had become accustomed to having Lindsay around. She had become a regular at family dinners, and had simply blended in to become one of the family. There was never any awkwardness with her. And she and Danny, while so very different, loved each other in a way that made Maria's heart melt.

And when they had shown up at her door, just over a year ago, with the news that she was going to be a grandmother, she had pinched Danny's cheek lovingly and laughed as he blushed. "Ma, stop it," he had protested. Then Maria had turned to Lindsay and embraced her tightly. "Congratulations, sweetheart," she had whispered to Lindsay, "And welcome to the family!"

The memories were now bittersweet, as there was the very real possibility that her son could lose the love of his life. His other half. The mother to his baby girl. She blinked to holdback the tears that were threatening to fall. She reached out to her son, trying to offer some comfort.

"Daniel," she said, rubbing his back just like she used to do when he was little. When he had been afraid of the dark or had woken up with nightmares she would sit on the edge of his bed as he cried and rub his back, whispering encouraging words to him, letting him know that although sometimes life could be scary he was strong enough to make it through. "You will get through this," she said. "I know you will. You need to be strong for yourself, for Lucy, and for Lindsay. I'm so proud of you, _mio bambino_. I love you. I know that you can do this."

Maria watched as Danny placed a final kiss to Lucy's temple and whispered a goodbye to her. "Love you Lucybear. You go with Nona, and be a good girl. Daddy loves you. And... and so does Mommy."

With that, he gently handed Lucy, who had drifted off to sleep, over to his mother. She tussled Danny's hair affectionately as she got up to leave, carefully holding the sleeping infant in her other arm.

"You know where we'll be, Danny. Keep us posted, okay?" And with a final smile at her son, Maria Messer turned and made her way down the hallway with her granddaughter tucked safely in her arms.

Danny sighed as he watched his mother and daughter disappear into his and his wife's shared office. He closed his eyes and drew in a breath and held it for a moment before blowing it out loudly. He was mentally switching from Daddy mode to NYPD Crime Scene Investigator mode.

He opened his eyes and looked at Mac. "That picture," he said. "I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. Why I had such a bad feeling. But look at it, Mac. Yeah, the circle goes around Lucy's face, but look at what else is circled."

He pulled a small object resembling a shot glass out of his pocket. Mac instantly recognized it as magnifying lens. "Look at everything contained in the circle and tell me what you see."

Mac leaned forward and placed the lens against the picture, overtop of the area that had been circled. He saw an enlarged view of Lucy's happy, smiling face. He saw Danny's hand holding his phone out to her. And on the phone? He saw the name... Lindsay Messer.

"You see it?" Danny asked. "It was a diversion. We all thought that the other person in danger was Lucy, because there was no one else in the picture. But there was. Linds was there, only in voice, but she was there. Dammit!" Danny shouted, getting to his feet and pacing around the office again.

"Why didn't I see it? God, Mac. I've been looking at this same fucking picture for hours, and I couldn't figure it out. I shouldn't have let her go. I should have gone instead. Or we both should have gone. Or neither of us. He was never after Lucy. I should have known that. It was too obvious! Oh, God! Why did I let her go?"

Mac watched as Danny paced and railed at himself. He knew that it was a release for him. He needed to vent all of his frustrations so that he could refocus and get back to the investigation with his head on straight.

"Shit, Mac. The last thing she said to me was that she loved me. And that everything was going to be fine," Danny said. "Do you know what I did? I didn't even look up at her. I just... I dismissed her. I don't even remember if I said that I loved her back." At this, Danny finally lost it. He broke down, collapsing onto the leather couch, his head held in his hands, trying in vain to conceal the tears that were freely flooding down his face. His shoulders shuddered with choking sobs.

"What did I do, Mac?" he managed to choke out. "Why me? Why us?"

Mac looked at the crumpled man in front of him. He sat down next to Danny and gently squeezed his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"I don't know, Danny," he said. "I really don't know. You showed a bit of kindness to Shane Casey, and he has taken that and twisted it. Now he sees that you have everything he's always wanted and will never be able to have, and he wants to take it away from you." He squeezed Danny's shoulder again. "But we won't let him. We'll find him, Danny. And we'll find Lindsay and Don too."

As Danny's tear streaked face looked miserably up at him, Mac Taylor hoped like hell that he was telling the truth.

* * *

Adam Ross scurried nervously down the hallway of the crime lab. He peered into offices, hoping to find the people he was looking for. He glanced into Danny and Lindsay's office and saw Danny's mom rocking Lucy in Danny's office chair. He smiled, and moved on down the hall. He arrived at Mac's office only to see Danny shaking with sobs on Mac's couch, with Mac's hand resting supportingly on his shoulder.

_Crap. I have the worst timing._

Adam wished that he could walk into Mac Taylor's office just once that day and not have to watch one of his friends break down in front of him. He had been a bit uncomfortable when he had walked in on Lindsay crying - _twice _- but this was different. This was Danny.

Ever since he had started at the lab four years ago, he had looked up to Danny. Mac had intimidated the hell out of Adam, and if he was honest, he was still terrified of his boss. But Danny? He was a tough New York cop, but he had take Adam under his wing and treated him like a little brother. He teased him and joked around with him and made him feel welcome when he had felt so very scared and alone.

Adam had always been better with gadgets and numbers than he had with people. And he had been made fun of - a lot - because of it. But although Danny teased him sometimes about his eccentricities, it was never mean spirited like it was with other people. It was a kind of affectionate teasing, and although Adam sometimes complained about it, he really enjoyed the way that Danny made a conscious effort to include him, when so many others had tended to overlook him.

Adam thought the world of Danny Messer. And seeing him broken like this was hard. But Adam knew that Mac needed to hear the information that he had, so he steeled himself, took a deep breath and knocked.

Mac turned to see who was at the door. Adam held up the piece of paper he was carrying in his hands, indicating that he had something he needed to talk to him about. Mac beckoned him inside the office.

"Hey," Adam said, "Um, so, I got the, um, the results from the badge found on the bartender's body. We, um, I mean _I _found traces of, um," he looked down at the sheet in front of him, trying not to concentrate on the sound of Danny's shaky breathing or sniffling. Trying to focus on the job he had come here to do.

"It... it contained traces of blood. Obviously some of that blood came back to match the two guys from the warehouse the other night... and um, one came back to, um, to the bartender Finnegan Hasnard..." he trailed off, unable to continue. He was very aware that both Mac and Danny were staring at him, willing him to continue. He stared hard at the piece of paper, trying to find the words and found that the paper was shaking slightly.

"And what, Adam?" asked Mac. Adam could tell he was trying to be gentle, but that he was quickly losing patience.

"I... uh... um... there was, um two other, um samples on the... on the badge."

"Adam, buddy," Danny's voice was raspy from his sobs, but his tone was gentle and it set Adam at ease. "Please. Just spit it out. Whose blood was it?"

Adam looked up from his paper and looked at Danny who sat with his elbows resting on his knees and the fingers on his right hand toyed with the wedding band on his left ring finger. He looked up at Adam with red-rimmed yet determined eyes.

"It was Flack's," said Adam. "And Lindsay's."

Danny nodded his head and chewed on his lower lip while continuing to fidget with his ring. He turned his attention away from Adam and stared off into space.

"Okay," he said quietly. "Okay."

"Anything else Adam?" asked Mac.

"Um, yeah boss," he said. "I also found a fingerprint, which I traced back to Shane Casey. And, um, I found some more of that green stuff that we found on the vic's shirt the other night. I think it's that algae stuff again, from the beer, and there were some traces of organic hops as well."

Adam lowered the paper he had been reading from and looked at Mac and Danny. Danny slowly brought his gaze back to look at Mac, then Adam.

"Did you say algae and organic hops?" he asked.

Adam nodded his head in the affirmative. He could see the gears working in Danny's mind. "What are you thinking, Danny?" he asked.

Danny looked down at the coffee table at the note that was still on display before him. Picking up the magnifying lens he placed it back over the picture, this time just over the left shoulder of Flack.

"Holy shit," he breathed. "Holy fucking shit."

"What is it Danny?" Mac asked.

"Motherfucker. I know where he is," Danny said slamming his fist on the coffee table and standing up. "I know where that goddamn bastard is."

* * *

"Rise and shine, happy campers!"

The voice came at them loud and shrill out of the darkness. Flack cringed at the sound. After the quiet of his and Lindsay's whispered conversations the volume of the voice was jarring. But familiar. Flack knew that voice.

"Shane Casey?" he called out into the blackness. "I know that's you. What do you want?"

"Oh, you know that it's me, do you?" the sinister, leering voice was right in his ear and the closeness of it startled Flack. But he recovered himself quickly.

"Yeah, Casey. I know it's you. I'd know that crazy-ass voice anywhere," said Flack more calmly than he felt. "Now, I'll ask again. What the fuck do you want?"

He felt, rather than heard Casey giggle beside him. "Now detective, what kind of language is that to use in front of a lady? Tsk tsk," Flack heard the mocking in Casey's voice. "I'm disappointed, Donald. Do you mind if I call you Donald?" he asked, then proceeded without waiting for a response from Flack. "I invite you here as my guest, give you the royal treatment, and this is the reaction I get? Manners, Donald. Manners."

Flack listened, shaking with fear and anger. Casey was clearly disturbed. The manic tone to his voice put Flack on edge. There was no telling what this maniac would do. As Casey had been speaking, Flack could hear that he was moving away from him, toward the area in the room that Flack had determined that Lindsay was tied up.

"So this is the lovely Mrs. Messer," Flack heard Casey say. "I'll say one thing, Messer has great taste in women," and then he let out a fiendish giggle. "You're very pretty, Mrs. Messer. Very pretty. Tell me, do you miss your husband?"

"Get your fucking hands off me, you asshole," Lindsay's voice was strong and clear, but Flack could hear the fear underneath her bravado.

"Mrs. Messer," Casey's voice was low and menacing, "when you are my guest you will play by my rules. Or there will be consequences. Do you understand?"

Flack listened but heard no response from Lindsay. He assumed that she had nodded or made some movement of agreement, but he heard Casey's voice ring out loudly in anger.

"I said _**do you understand**_! Answer me!"

Flack heard a slap and Lindsay cry out as Casey's hand met her face. "Yes! Yes... okay. I understand."

"That's better. As long as you both agree that my rules are the law, then we'll all get along just fine," said Casey with an audible sneer in his voice.

Flack felt panic surging through his body. He knew that Casey was unhinged and he and Lindsay were in imminent danger. He had no idea whether or not the team would even know where to begin looking for them, so he had to keep his mind sharp. He needed to get Lindsay out of here safely.

"Shane?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes, you - the dark haired fellow in the front row," Casey said, his voice suffused with terrifying laughter. "What can I do for you?"

"Please, what are we doing here? What do you want from us?" Flack felt like a dog begging for a bone. But he knew that in Casey's frame of mind it would be dangerous to provoke him by demanding answers.

"Well, you know Donald," Casey said, "That is a very good question. A very good question." Flack heard Casey start to move around the room. "I guess the honest answer is that I don't want anything from you. Either of you."

"Then why... why are we hear?" Lindsay asked from Flack's right, her voice submissive. It seemed that she too had realized that being aggressive with Casey would only result in aggravating him further.

"Oh, Mrs. Messer. Please," said Casey. "I know you saw my note. You know exactly why you're here." Chills ran up and down Flack's spine at the tone in Casey's voice. There was a note? "You're here so that I can get back at Messer. He took my brother from me - twice. And now, he has to pay. Lovely Lindsay, you were easy. I knew that Messer would do anything to get you back. And I also know that his brother Louie died a few years ago, so unfortunately, Donald, that left you to fill the void."

"What... what are you going to... to do to us?" Flack heard the tremor in Lindsay's voice. He knew that it was partly for fear of their own situation, but partly for fear of what Casey might have planned for Danny if he and the team were ever able to find them.

"Well, I have left some extra clues on that little note I left on Donald's windshield as well as on the badge that Messer was kind enough to lend me" said Casey with a sneer in his voice. "I expect that the science dweebs in your office are analyzing them as we speak and narrowing down their search area. I don't think that we'll be alone for much longer now."

Flack heard Casey start to walk back toward his two prisoners, stopping first to rummage through some sort of storage container - possibly a tool box. Apparently finding what he was looking for, Flack listened as he made his way over to where his prisoners were tied.

"Do you hear that?" Casey asked. Flack listened hard. Faintly, so very faintly, he heard the blessed sounds of sirens. Flack felt relief wash over him as the sirens got closer and were followed by the sounds of tires screeching to a halt out on the street above them. But his relief was short lived as he felt a prick in his neck. As the world went black he thought he heard Casey's voice in his ear.

"_Showtime_."

* * *

A/N: Eek! I'm so sorry that it took me a few days to get this posted. I was just not happy with the way it was working so I had to re-do chunks of it. I hope that it flows well and makes sense! Please please read and review. I'm addicted to your reviews and feeling particularly insecure about this chapter, and I would love to know what people think!!!

Next chapter will be up soon. I promised that I would try to get the story wrapped up before new shows start on WEDNESDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I'd better get writing!!!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Your wonderful reviews have really made my day once again. Thank you!!!

Without further ado, Chapter 7...

I own nothing and no one...

* * *

Mac looked down through the magnifying lens at the area that Danny had pointed out on the photo. Just over Flack's left shoulder he saw it. A poster stapled to a telephone pole advertising a St. Patrick's Day pub crawl, starting at Finnegan Hasnard's bar - Ceilidh's. The ad gave info about their organic home-brewed beer. Studying the poster carefully, Mac could just make out a cramped, messy scrawl in the bottom left of the poster.

_See you soon, Messer_.

Mac had the troops mobilized in minutes. He and Danny were riding together. Stella, Hawkes and Adam were in the car behind them. They were joined by a huge contingent of the NYPD, racing through the streets of Manhattan with sirens blaring and lights flashing.

While trying not to break his concentration on the road in front of him, Mac risked a quick glance at Danny sitting in the passenger seat beside him. He was staring blankly at the note Casey had left on Flack's windshield, his hands shaking slightly.

"Danny? When we get there I want you to stay in the car," Mac said. "Do you understand?"

"What?!?" Danny turned, snapped out of his trance by Mac's words. "No fucking way, Mac! That's my wife and my best friend in there! You've got to be fucking insane if you think I'm just going to sit on my ass out here while this goes down. No way. I'm going in."

Mac looked over at Danny. He saw his blue eyes flashing with determination. And while Mac was glad to see that he hadn't lost his will to fight, he wasn't going to delude himself into thinking that they were going to be walking into a happy ending. In fact Mac had a pretty good idea about the kind of situation they would be walking into, and he was dreading it. He had seen firsthand the destruction Shane Casey had wreaked upon his previous victims. He had no idea how Danny would react if faced with that kind of scene. Hell, Mac didn't' even know how _he _would react in that situation. He knew from previous experience that Danny could become a lose cannon if he wasn't kept reigned in, and Mac knew that whatever happened, he had to keep Danny away from that scene.

"Danny," Mac's voice rung with authority, "I don't care if I have to handcuff you to this car. You are not getting anywhere near that scene."

"But, Mac..." Danny's voice had lost it's combative edge, and he was once again gazing at the picture still clasped in his hands.

"No buts, Danny," Mac said firmly. "You are on suspension. You have no badge, no gun. You are essentially a civilian right now. And a civilian has no place at a crime scene. This is not a discussion. This is an order. You are staying in the car."

Sometimes Danny wished that his boss didn't have to be so damned by-the-book. He sighed and rubbed his eyes with his fists. Deep down, he knew that Mac was right. He had no right to be at the scene in an official capacity, and he was lucky that Mac had even let him come along with the team. He realized that Mac had probably assumed, correctly, that Danny would show up whether he was invited or not. So Mac had taken the path of least resistance.

Danny looked up at Mac. He would stay in the car. For now. But neither an act of God nor Mac Taylor would be able to keep him away if Danny found out that Shane Casey had harmed a single hair on his wife's head.

* * *

Sirens still blaring, they pulled to a screeching halt outside of Ceilidh's. Mac turned to look at Danny, who was staring off into space again, twisting his wedding band nervously on his finger.

"Danny?" Mac said gently, trying to get the young man's attention but not wanting to startle him. "Danny?"

"Yeah Mac," Danny replied, his voice flat. He did not turn to look at Mac, but continued to stare blankly off at nothing.

"I promise, I'll let you know as soon as there is any news... whatever happens. We won't keep you in the dark. Okay? Danny?" Mac reached across the centre console and once again placed his hand reassuringly on Danny's shoulder.

"What if I don't want to know, Mac?"

Mac squeezed Danny's shoulder gently in an attempt to reassure his friend. "You deserve to know, Danny."

With one final squeeze, Mac released Danny's shoulder and got out of the vehicle and shut the door behind him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes momentarily, trying to clear his head. With Shane Casey involved he knew that the whole team would need to have their wits about them, and he was no exception. He took one last look at Danny through the side window of the truck and saw that he had leaned his head back on the head rest and closed his eyes, the faint glistening of wetness on his eyelashes the only sign of his inner turmoil.

"He gonna be alright, Mac?" Stella Bonasera was making her way over to Mac, fastening her Kevlar vest over her chest as she walked, Sheldon Hawkes and Adam Ross following just behind her.

"Depends," Mac said simply. He moved away from the vehicle, wanting to preserve Danny's privacy as he sat in the car.

"I just can't imagine what he's going through," said Hawkes. "Haven't they been through enough?"

"It's not fair, and it's not right," Mac agreed. "But I doubt Danny wants us to stand here feeling sorry for him right now. In fact I'm pretty sure that he'd prefer if we got in there and brought his wife out, and Flack too. So lets just focus, alright? We've got a job to do."

"Right, boss," said Adam. "What's the plan?"

* * *

He knew they were coming. He could hear their footsteps as they shuffled their way cautiously through the bar above. Everything was going according to his plan. He smiled to himself as he looked around the room. The scene before him was laid out perfectly. Now he only needed his supporting cast to complete his grand finale.

* * *

"Clear!" called the uniformed officer ahead of him. Mac followed the officer down the dark, narrow hallway that led from behind the main bar leading into a line of offices and storage rooms. They had just confirmed that the rooms on the main level of the bar were all empty.

"One more door here, sir," said the officer. "I think it leads down into the cellar."

"Alright, lets make it quick and quiet here folks. Get in, assess the situation and get out. Be cautious, people. Casey is very dangerous. He's captured two seasoned New York City detectives and we have no idea what he might be capable of. We can presume that he's armed as both Flack and Lindsay were carrying their weapons when they were abducted. Stay on your toes and be prepared to get the hell out of there if things get bad."

"Right, sir."

"Sure thing, boss."

"You got it, Mac."

Mac looked around at the group of people crowded into the end of the hallway, surrounding the door that they knew would lead them to Shane Casey. None of them knew what to expect behind that door.

Slowly, Mac turned the knob and pushed lightly on the door. It swung open with an ominous creak, revealing a dark and menacing wooden staircase headed down into the bowels of the building. Mac peered into the darkness, willing his eyes to adjust faster to the gloom. He signalled to the assembled group that he was going down. He wanted Stella, Hawkes, Adam, and four uniformed officers to follow him down. The remaining officers were to secure the rest of the building, ensuring that there was no possible way for Casey to escape the building should he elude the group downstairs.

Taking a deep breath, Mac stepped into the darkness.

* * *

Danny sat miserably in the car parked in front of Ceilidh's. He had tuned the radio in the vehicle onto the frequency being used by the team. He wasn't allowed in the building until Mac okayed it, but he sure as hell was not going to let himself be completely left out. He listened in as the various rooms on the main level of the bar were cleared.

He turned his attention back to the picture now resting on the dashboard in front of him. He picked it up and ran his fingers over Lucy's sweet little face, and then he gently caressed Lindsay's name displayed on the screen of his phone. A tear slipped down his cheek as he thought back to the last time he had seen her, and he fought desperately to stop himself from breaking down again. He wanted her back. He needed her back. He needed to stay strong for her.

He wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket and leaned back in the seat once again, closing his eyes and listening to the voices over the radio. He heard his friends - Mac, Stella, Sheldon, and Adam - as they worked with the officers to search for his missing wife and best friend. His heart swelled with gratitude. These people were placing their lives on the line for his family - Don and Lindsay - even after what he had done.

A wave of remorse washed over him. Would things have turned out differently if he had reported his badge missing right away? He sighed. Now he would never know. He figured that Casey had taken his badge with the intention of one day using it against Danny. There was no way to escape it. Had Danny behaved differently, Casey would have gotten to him eventually.

He opened his eyes and sat up straight. Something was different. He realized that there were no more voices chattering over the radio. Mac must have ordered radio silence during the final stages of their search. Danny's stomach churned with nervousness for the people in the building. One way or another, it would all be over soon.

* * *

His eyes had become accustomed to the dark and he could see that he was nearing the bottom of the narrow stairway. As he descended the last step, he signalled to the group behind him to stop moving for a moment and he turned his head, searching with his eyes and ears for any signs of life.

Hearing nothing, he peered around the corner and saw a faint sliver of light coming from underneath a heavy door at the end of the large room. He turned and motioned for everyone to follow him, their flashlight beams piercing through the murky darkness.

When he reached the door, Mac placed his back against the wall beside the door, poised with his gun ready. He inhaled deeply and reached out to grab the doorknob, turning it as slowly and as silently as possible.

As the door swung inward, he moved swiftly into the opening, squinting as the bright light of the room rendered him temporarily blind until his eyes adjusted. He blinked a few times and took in the scene in front of him and his heart plummeted to his feet.

Blood was smeared on every available surface, pooling in revolting puddles on the floor. Hanging from pipes traversing the ceiling, their arms bound and extended over their heads, were Don and Lindsay. Both of them dangled from their bonds, their toes just skimming the floor. They were limp and motionless. And standing between them, himself covered with blood, stood Shane Casey.

"Fuck me," Mac heard an officer breath behind him.

"Oh my God!" Mac heard the emotions bubbling up in the voice of Stella Bonasera, standing beside him as she peered around him into the room. "Is... is that... are they... Oh my God!" she breathed.

"Well, hello detectives!" Casey giggled, fingering a long and wicked looking knife as he spoke. "So nice of you to join us!" He looked at the faces staring at him in disbelief from the other side of the room. "Although, I am disappointed that Messer couldn't be here. I really had hoped that he would make an appearance. I would hate for him to miss this."

Mac turned to Adam and spoke in a rapid, urgent whisper. "Get upstairs. Whatever you hear over the radio, you have to keep Danny out of here. Do not, I repeat, do _not _let him get anywhere near this room. Get some of the officers upstairs to help if you need it. Go!"

With that he shoved the young man away from him, back toward the flight of stairs leading up to the safety of the bar above.

Moving into the room, Mac trained his gun on the Casey.

"Put the knife down, Shane," he commanded. "Put it down now, and no one else has to get hurt."

"But detective," said Casey, "if I put my knife down I'll be left defenceless. And that's just not fair." He grinned evilly at Mac. "Unless of course, I happen to have one of these!" he said, pulling what looked like a service-issued gun from his pocket. "If I can keep the gun, you can have the knife!" he giggled.

"You know that's not how this works, Shane," said Mac calmly. "Now come on. Do the smart thing and hand over your weapons."

Casey pretended to consider his options. He then shook his head and grinned as he pointed the gun at Flack's motionless body. "No, I don't think I will."

* * *

"Fuck me."

Those were the first words that Danny heard come over the radio in at least five minutes. Shit! What was going on. He held his breath, listening for more.

"Oh my God!" Stella's voice came over the radio. "Is... is that... are they... Oh my God!"

Like a shot, Danny was out of the truck, stumbling over his feet as he scrambled toward the bar. He felt uncontrollable panic and rage building up inside his chest. He kicked in the front door and stormed inside, slamming right into Adam, the collision knocking both men from their feet.

"D...Da...Danny!" Adam stammered. "What - what are you doing?"

"What the fuck is going on in there?" Danny demanded, getting to his feet and trying to push past Adam. "Mac promised me that he would let me know as soon as he found Lindsay. Where is she?"

"Dan - Danny, you... you have to stay upstairs, man," Adam put his hands on Danny's chest, trying to both calm him down and keep him from getting past him. But Danny was much stronger than Adam, and with the extra adrenaline pumping through him in his heightened state of panic, Adam knew that he wouldn't be able to restrain Danny for long. "Hey! Can I get a little help in here!" he called out to the officers in the next room.

Three men appeared and moved toward Danny. He looked from Adam's face to the faces of the men approaching him. They were coming at him the way that someone approaches a wild animal, hands outstretched, ready to defend themselves if he lashed out at them.

"Danny, come on man," Adam pleaded with him. "You have to stay upstairs. Mac needs you to be up here. He... he hasn't found her yet." Adam hated lying to his friend, but he knew that if he told Danny what he had seen, there would be no controlling him. "Please, Danny. Please. Just stay up here with me."

Danny relaxed his stance and Adam removed his hand from his chest. He signalled to the officers to back down. "That's okay, guys," he said. "He's fine now, we're gonna be fine. Right Danny?"

Adam looked up at his friend and seeing the fear and rage burning in his eyes, he knew that he had just lost the battle.

"Sorry Adam," Danny whispered as he darted around the younger man and leapt over the bar, launching himself down the hallway and down the stairs.

* * *

Mac heard the commotion upstairs and he knew that Danny was in the building. It was only a matter of time before he found his way downstairs.

"Shane, give me the gun now. I don't want anyone else to get hurt here. Come on. Hand it over."

Casey stood still for a moment, cocking his head to the side and listening. Then a fiendish smile spread across his face.

"Detective Messer's here!"

"Danny, get the hell out of here," Mac shouted, not taking his eyes off Casey.

"Where is she? Where's Lindsay? Where's Flack?" Danny's voice came from the darkness of the large empty room behind the group.

"Stop him," Mac ordered as Danny tried to shove his way into the room. The four officers grabbed his arms and tried to restrain him as he railed against them, shouting and kicking, trying to free himself.

"Danny, Danny," Stella tried to soothe him. "Come on, Danny. Stop it. Settle down. You're not helping anyone right now. You need to calm down, okay." She reached out and placed her hand on his forearm. "Danny, look at me."

Danny stopped struggling in the firm grip of the men holding him back.

"Where are they?" he asked in a small voice. "Are they okay? Please, Stell. I need to see her. Please."

"Oh Danny, honey," Stella said in a voice that betrayed the tears she refused to let fall, "I don't think that's a good idea."

Danny's face crumpled and his body went limp.

"Oh, God. No! Please, Stell!" he wailed, "Please, no! No, no, no!"

The world spun around him. His legs were shaking beneath him and then they gave out. He felt his chest tighten as breathing suddenly became very painful.

"Guys, let him go," Danny heard Mac's voice over the cacophony of sounds swirling through his head. He felt as the grips on his arms relaxed and he fell completely to the floor. He closed his eyes and tried to forget where he was and why he was here.

"What's the matter, Messer?" Shane Casey's mocking voice broke through his thoughts. "Did you lose something?"

Opening his eyes, Danny took in the scene in front of him. Mac was standing pointing his gun at Shane Casey. Casey was standing in the middle of the room pointing a gun at Don Flack, hanging from his wrists from the ceiling. His head was lolling to the side, a blindfold covering his eyes and there were bloodstains on his shirt. And to his right, similarly bound and blindfolded, was Lindsay.

His Lindsay.

His Montana.

She wasn't moving. He looked at her chest for the tell-tale rise and fall, indicating that she was still breathing. But there was nothing. They were too late. He was too late.

"You fucking prick," Danny said feeling the rage rise up in him again.

"Danny! Shut up," said Mac.

"You're wife is very pretty, Messer. You've got good taste," Casey sneered. "Well, I guess you _had _good taste."

"You shut up about my wife, you asshole," Danny hissed. "What the fuck is wrong with you? What do you want?"

"I want you to know how it feels, Messer," said Casey, his voice low and menacing. "I want you to know how it feels to lose people you love. To have them unfairly taken from you. I want you to suffer just like I did when you took my brother away from me."

"I didn't take your brother away from you, you freak," snapped Danny, slowly rising to his feet. "You're brother murdered an innocent woman for a couple hundred bucks. He murdered her in cold blood and he was sent to jail for it. It's just what he deserved."

"Shut your mouth about my brother, Messer," shrieked Casey. The gun in his hand now moved its focus from the motionless form of Flack to dead-centre of Danny's unprotected chest. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"You're right, Shane," said Danny, moving slowly into the room. "I don't. Because I wasn't there. I didn't arrest your brother. I didn't process his crime scene. I had nothing to do with your fucking dumbass, murdering brother."

"Shut up! Shut up!" Casey screamed, the gun in his hand now shaking slightly as Danny continued to slink toward him.

"Danny, stop," hissed Mac. "Get back here. You're not helping."

"I didn't take your brother from you Shane. He got what he deserved. He went to prison. It's not my fault he was too weak to deal with what he had done. It's not my fault that your stupid, weak brother killed himself."

"Shut up! You're a liar, Messer. A fucking liar!"

"I'm not a liar, Shane," Danny continued. "You know I'm not a liar. I only told you the truth, the truth that your brother was too much of a coward to tell you himself. That he was a killer, that he murdered that girl. That's all I did, Shane. I never tried to hurt you. I only tried to help you, you son of a bitch."

"No! No, no, no! You -" Casey waved the gun wildly in Danny's direction as he shouted, "You took him away from me. You stole my memories of him and you twisted them into lies."

Danny was inches away from Casey now. All he had to do was keep distracting him and he could just reach out, take the gun from him, and end this.

"You're the liar, Shane," Danny said, inching forward now, slowly raising his hand. Casey's wild eyes were focused on Danny's own face. He only hoped that he could get his hand on the gun before Shane realized what he was doing. "You're a liar and a murderer. You're so much worse than your brother. He was an idiot that made a mistake and a girl died. But you? You're fucked up. Your warped little mind turned you into the victim, while you murdered innocent people. And you think that you can just fuck up my life with no consequences? That I'm just going to sit here and let you take people away from me? Huh? You little fucker?"

Danny's fingers brushed against the cool steel of the gun. Before Casey could react, Danny had disarmed him and now stood with the muzzle of the gun pressed against Casey's forehead. He stared Casey down. He expected to see resignation and possibly fear in his opponents eyes. What he saw shocked him. Was the sick bastard smiling?

* * *

The sound of the sirens wailing in the distance had given Lindsay hope. Mac and the team were coming for them. And Danny. Danny would be there. Soon she would get to hold him again, she would get to feel his arms around her.

"Do you hear that?" she heard Casey ask. Then she listened as she heard a sharp intake of break from Flack, then Casey whispered "Showtime."

She heard his footsteps moving toward her.

"You won't get away with this, Casey," she said trying to keep her voice even. "You'll never get out of here alive."

"I know," Casey whispered in her ear.

"What?"

"In fact, I'm counting on it."

"What?" she gasped. "What are you going to do? To me? To Don?"

"Don't you worry, pretty lady," whispered Casey. "You'll live to see another day. I'm not a complete monster, you know. I've never killed anyone that didn't deserve it. You and Donald here are simply a means to an end. You were my way to get Messer's attention, get him to meet me face to face. He's what I want."

"No!" Lindsay screamed. "Leave Danny alone! Please, don't hurt him!"

"Oh Lindsay, don't you see? My plan was never to kill anyone else. But knowing Messer, he'll show up here, guns blazing, to rescue his beautiful bride. And then?" Casey let out a menacing chuckle and gently caressed Lindsay's cheek, "Danny Messer is going to go to prison for my murder."

With that, Lindsay felt a prick in her neck and she started to feel very sleepy.

"You need your rest, Mrs. Messer," she heard Casey whisper in her ear. "Your husband will be here shortly, and I have to get ready."

* * *

A/N: Next chapter coming very soon. Please read and let me know what you think so far!!!


	8. Chapter 8

Wow! Your response to the last chapter was absolutely amazing! Thank you all so very very much! I can hardly believe the positive feedback I have received, and I am genuinely humbled by your oh so kind words.

And now, on with the show...

Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own them.

* * *

As he felt the gun leave his hand and the cool steel of the muzzle pressed against his forehead, Shane Casey realized that his plan, the grand scheme that he had been potting for months, had finally come to fruition.

He had driven Danny Messer to the point of no return. He had pushed every button and frayed every last nerve. And now there was nothing left for Messer to do than pull the trigger and seal his fate.

Casey couldn't help the smile that crept across his face as he thought about the best part of his plan. He had injected his two prisoners with a drug that rendered them temporarily paralyzed, and it would be wearing off soon. Just in time for Messer to realize that he had committed murder for no reason. His wife and best friend would wake up just in time to see Messer marched away to prison for murdering an unarmed suspect in cold blood.

And Messer? He would rot in prison, plagued by regret for the rest of his life! Casey could barely contain his glee. He watched as Messer fought with himself, his finger twitching on the trigger of Flack's gun. He was close. So close. He closed his eyes and waited for the blessed oblivion to take him. Take him away from all the pain and misery of the past few years. Take him away, and leave Danny Messer's life in complete and utter ruins.

* * *

What the fuck? Thought Danny. Why was this freak smiling at him while he had a gun against his head?

His finger was itching to do it. It would be so easy to just pull the trigger. Shane Casey would never be able to hurt him or his family again. He would be a shadow. A memory. Nothing more. Danny braced himself and tightened his grip on the gun.

"Any last words, Casey?" he said.

Casey had closed his eyes and was smiling serenely at him. "Just do it, Messer," he said. "You know you want to. You want it more than you've ever wanted anything. I'll be a distant memory. A figment of your imagination. Pull the trigger."

Danny stared at the man in front of him. Casey was right. He wanted to get this over with and get on with his life. But something just wasn't right. Casey didn't create this whole elaborate scenario just to stand there and let Danny shoot him in the head. Or did he?

Was this what he wanted? Danny knew that if Casey made it out of here alive he would be sent to the deepest, darkest hole that the United States Penal System had to offer, possibly never to see the light of day again. Danny figured that to Casey, death must seem preferable to the alternative. And he wanted Danny to give him that release.

Danny loathed the man in front of him, hated him to his very core. But would he be able to live with himself if he gave Casey what he wanted?

He thought of Lindsay and Flack. His best friend and his wife. Two people that had gotten him through some of the worst moments in his life. He was fighting now to hold back the tears that were desperate to escape. How would he get through this without them? How would he cope without being able to sit and bullshit with Flack over a few beers and some pool? And how... how was he expected to get through his day without his Montana? The thought of waking up each morning and seeing her side of the bed cold and untouched made his throat constrict with overwhelming sadness. And the thought of Lucy growing up without knowing what an amazing person her mother was caused him actual physical pain.

Danny let out a strangled sob and pulled the trigger.

* * *

"Put your hands on your head and turn around." The voice was hard as steel and deadly serious.

What? No. No! No! No! The gun had gone off. He'd heard it. Messer had pulled the trigger. So what was going on?

Shane Casey pealed open his eyes. He gazed around him in disbelief. Messer was still standing in front of him, the gun pointed at the ceiling, the barrel still smoking.

"No! What did you do?"

"I said put your hands on your head and turn around, Shane." Danny said as he lowered the gun, bringing it into alignment with Casey's chest.

"Fuck you, Messer. I'm not moving. Shoot me. You know it's what you want!" Casey was desperate now. He would not go back to some stinking hole of a prison. He was going to see his brother again. All of his planning, his careful execution of every last detail. They hadn't been for nothing. They couldn't be. Messer had to finish the job. "Do it! Do it, you fucking coward! Kill me!"

"Why the hell would I give you the satisfaction? Now I said put your hands on your head and turn around."

Danny watched as Casey glared malevolently at him. He heard movement behind him and from his peripheral vision he saw Mac come into view, his own gun pointed at Casey.

"Danny?" he said tentatively. "Come on, son. Give me the gun. You don't want to do this. He's not worth it. You're a good man Danny, and a good cop. Don't throw it all away over this little shit. Give me the gun and step away."

Danny saw Mac inching his way up to him, one hand outstretched to take the gun from him. Danny relaxed his stance and lowered the gun to point at the floor, never taking his eyes off Casey's face. He saw the resignation in his opponent's eyes as Casey realized that his plan had failed. Danny couldn't help but offer Casey a smug smile as he handed the gun over to Mac, who in turn handed it back to Hawkes to bag as evidence.

Then Mac moved around behind Casey and Danny heard the click of the handcuffs as they were fastened securely around his wrists. Danny leaned in so that his face was mere inches from Casey's.

"You lose, Shane," he whispered.

* * *

Mac held his breath as he watched the scene play out in front of him. His worst fears had been realized when he had walked into the room. Seeing that amount of blood, and the limp bodies of Lindsay and Flack as they hung from the ceiling had sent chills down his spine. And Casey, his eyes wild with manic glee, had made his skin crawl as he had grazed his fingers up and down the side of the knife he had held.

Mac had been temporarily relieved when Casey had discarded the knife, tossing it into the corner, but dismayed when he had produced Flack's firearm from his pocket. And then all hell had broken lose as Danny had come barreling into the room, wild with anger-fuelled panic. He had tried to keep Danny from the room, from seeing two people that he loved dearly in this state. He had wanted to soften the blow for the young man. His heart had gotten heavy when Danny had collapsed on the floor under the weight of his grief.

And now Danny was handing the weapon over to him, his eyes never leaving the face of Shane Casey. Mac wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a faint smile on Danny's face as he whispered something to Casey, who visibly blanched and seemed to shrink in front of them. Mac signalled for the officers to secure Casey and take him away. He had them check and then double-check his restraints, not wanting to give Casey any chance of escaping.

Then he turned back to Danny, observing him while securing his gun in the holster on his hip. Danny was standing in the centre of the room, tears streaming down his face as his gaze drifted back and forth between the two bodies dangling from the pipes. He watched as Danny's resolve crumbled around him and he let out a series of choking sobs and reached out to caress his wife's face.

"Danny, no!" Mac shouted. He watched as Danny swallowed and blinked hard, his hand still outstretched, inches from Lindsay's delicate cheek. "I'm sorry, Danny," he said more quietly. "But you can't touch her. You know we have to preserve the evidence."

Mac watched as Danny considered Mac's words, but then shook his head and extended his reach so that his fingers skimmed over the smooth skin of Lindsay's cheek. That touch was Danny's undoing as his legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees and let out a soul-wrenching wail of sadness.

Mac could feel the wetness pooling in his eyes as Danny continued to sob. He turned to see the rest of the team. All three of them were openly crying. Like himself, they wanted to do something, to offer some comfort to Danny for all that he had lost, but there was nothing to say. There were no words that would make it okay. His friend and his wife were gone.

"Please," Danny managed to choke out after a few minutes. "Please, just cut them down. Please... I just... I can't..." Words failed him as he was overcome by another wave of shuddering sobs.

Mac turned and nodded to Adam and Hawkes. Wiping their eyes and regaining their composure, the two men moved further into the room. Adam stood on his evidence kit and pulled a folding knife from his pocket and began to saw away at the rope attaching Lindsay to the ceiling. Hawkes and Mac supported Lindsay with their gloved hands, carefully lowering her to the floor once she was released from her restraints.

Instantly, Danny crawled the short distance to where his wife now lay prone on the floor.

"Danny, honey," Stella said gently, crouching down beside him and once again placing her hand on his forearm. "You know that you can't touch her. We need to preserve the evidence so we can get Casey for this." She choked on a sob as she looked at Danny and saw his face crumple. It killed her to deny him this one small comfort. She wanted so badly to just let him fall on Lindsay and hug her until his arms had memorized the feel of her. But she couldn't, and Danny knew that.

"Please, Stell," he whispered. "Please. I need to. I'll... I'll wear gloves. Please?"

"Danny," she faltered, her resolve wavering at the look of complete and utter hopelessness on his face. She sighed, "No sweetie, I'm sorry." Tears were freely flowing down her cheeks.

Stella had always had a soft spot in her heart for Danny. Since he had joined their team she had watched him grow into himself. He had always been cocky and kind of a wise-ass, but Stella had seen through it. She knew it was his defence mechanism, his way of keeping people from getting too close. Over time, she had seen his façade fade away as he got more and more comfortable in his own skin. And when Lindsay had arrived a few years after Danny, Stella had jumped for joy at the sparks that flew between the pair of them. Soon, the man she had come to regard as her little brother was madly in love, and Stella couldn't have been happier for the pair of them.

And now? Now he had lost so much. She hoped that he would see the support he had around him, his friends who loved him and loved Lucy. She hoped that he wouldn't erect those walls around himself again, keeping people out. Keeping himself from getting hurt again.

She reached out to him, wrapping her arms around him as he trembled on the cold, hard concrete floor. He leaned into her embrace and she could feel his tears soaking through the fabric of her shirt.

"Shh. Shh," she soothed him. "I'm so sorry, Danny. Oh, honey, I'm so very sorry. Shh."

"I… I want… I want her back!" he whimpered into her shoulder. "I can't do this… I can't… Lucy… not by myself… I just can't."

"Shhh," Stella cooed, rubbing his back. "You can, Danny. You can do it. You're so strong, honey. I know it hurts… I know. But you and Lucy have each other, and you have us… You can do this. We'll all be there for you, honey."

They sat like that for what seemed like hours, Stella holding Danny while his heart broke over and over again with every realization that he would never hear Lindsay's voice again.

"Mmmm…" A soft female voice disturbed the quiet of the room.

All heads in the room snapped up. Adam, Mac and Hawkes paused in the process of cutting Flack down from the pipes.

"Who was that?" asked Adam. "Is someone else here?"

Looking dumbfounded, Mac shook his head. "No, we came through the only door into the room, and cleared every other room in the bar. And look around you. Where would someone hide? There's nothing here. Just us."

Danny's head raised from its resting place on Stella's shoulder. "Linds?" he whispered. "Montana?"

Stella quickly tried to cut him off before he got too excited. "Danny, it's not Lindsay. You know that. Come on," she said, moving to get up from her position on the floor. "Let's get you upstairs, okay? We'll go see your mom and get Lucy."

Danny had gone rigid. He stared down at his wife's body, unblinking, not wanting to miss any telltale signs of life. "No," he whispered. "That was Lindsay. Stell, I know her voice."

Reaching out to the blindfold that covered her eyes, Danny was stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder.

"You can't touch her Danny," said Mac. "I'm sorry, I know you want to believe that she's okay, but you have to let her go."

"Mmmmm…" the voice was louder this time, and Mac faltered. It had sounded like it had come from Lindsay. But it couldn't be… could it?

"Linds? Lindsay?!? Baby?" Danny was frantically fighting against the restraining hands of Stella and Mac. "Please Mac! Please let me go!"

"Mac, if he wears gloves, can he…?" she inclined her head towards Lindsay, indicating that perhaps it would be alright if Danny were to use proper protection against contaminating the scene.

Mac sighed in resignation. "Okay. Alright. But Danny, please be careful," he warned. "And don't get your hopes up."

Stella offered Danny a small smile and watched as he nodded his head, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his jacket. Then he fumbled in his pocket for a pair of gloves. His hands were shaking and he had lost the coordination required to manoeuvre the gloves onto his hands.

"Here, Danny," Stella said quietly, "Let me help you." As the words left her lips, Danny held the gloves out to her. She took them from him and gently helped him to slide his shaking hands into the gloves.

"Thank you," he whispered back to her. She rubbed his back gently as he turned to look down on his wife's body.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he reached out a hand and carefully lifted the blindfold off of Lindsay's face.

* * *

She could hear voices. They were distant and fuzzy. It reminded her of when she had been younger, swimming in her uncle's pool back home. She and her cousin used to try to talk to each other underwater, their words distorted by the thickness of the water and the bubbles that formed as the sounds left their mouths. They would tell each other their deepest, darkest secrets – secrets about boys they liked, or the cigarettes they had snuck behind the gym at school – confident that their secrets were safe in the silence of the water.

She wondered if this is what it felt like to have her life flash before her eyes. She was surprised. She had thought that it would be different. She had thought that she would _see _more, instead of just hearing mumbled voices.

It was still dark. She wanted to blink her eyes, to see if she was still blindfolded, but she couldn't seem to get her body to respond to her brain's command. She concentrated as hard as she could and let out a satisfied grunt when she eventually felt the fabric brush against her eyelashes. She felt a momentary wave of relief wash over her, but was soon replaced by a sharp pain in her shoulders.

Casey had injected her with something to knock her out, and it appeared to be wearing off. The pain in her shoulders increased, and so did the clarity of the voices around her. They sounded familiar… but they weren't at all menacing. She felt no fear, as she had when Casey had been whispering his foul plans into her ear.

_You can't touch her, Danny… I'm sorry but you have to let her go…_

Danny? He was here? Her heart started to thud loudly in her chest as panic surged through her. She had to warn him… Casey's plan… she couldn't let him do it… she needed him.

"Mmmmm…" was all she managed to get out before exhaustion overtook her.

_Linds? Lindsay?!? Baby?… Please Mac! Please let me go!_

She listened hard, too tired to move or make any further attempt at speaking. She heard the scuffled sounds of a struggle and the soft and familiar voice of Stella as she pleaded for Danny to be able to touch her.

Please… please let him touch me… Let him hold me.

She lay there and listened. Suddenly, she felt a light pressure on the fabric covering her eyes and realized that someone was finally taking the damned blindfold off of her. She moaned quietly and squeezed her eyes shut tight as the bright lights of the room around her stabbed into her retinas. Slowly, oh so slowly she opened her eyes, blinking as her eyes adjusted. Blurry faces looked down on her as she tried to take in her surroundings. She blinked some more, willing her eyes to focus, searching the faces around the room for the one she longed to see.

"Hey cowboy," she croaked as Danny's tear-stained face came into view.

* * *

Danny listened to the steady beep of the heart monitor as it kept time with Lindsay's pulse. He gripped her hand tighter in his and leaned forward, resting his forehead on the hospital bed. He had almost lost her… he had thought he'd lost her…

As he had lifted the blindfold from her face, his heart had leapt up into his throat as he watched her squeeze her eyes shut against the harsh glare of the lights in the room. Fresh tears streamed down his cheeks, but these were different. They were tears of intense joy as he realized that she was alive. He watched in awe as she tentatively opened her beautiful brown eyes. He leaned forward, wanting to make sure that he was the first person that she saw, that she knew he had come for her. His heart melted and his breath caught in his throat as the sweet sound of her voice rang like a beautiful melody in his ears.

_Hey, cowboy_.

He leaned down and scooped her up in his arms pulling her onto his lap, holding her as tightly as he possibly could, never wanting to let go again. He ran his hands over her body, wanting to touch her everywhere, to make sure that she was unharmed. In turn, she had wrapped her shaking arms around his neck, pressing her face into his shoulder while whispering in his ear.

"You came for me," he could hear her voice tremble with emotion as the words tumbled out of her mouth. "You found me."

Tears stung his eyes once again as he listened to her weep. Unable to believe that she was really here, that she was alive and holding him, he had run his fingers through her hair, breathing in her scent. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, her neck and finally her lips. As he had pressed his lips softly to hers, he heard her sigh. They sat together, tangled in each others arms, foreheads pressed together, their breaths co-mingling in their close proximity.

"I thought I lost you," she whispered against his lips, her eyes closed and her fingers playing with the hairs on the back of his neck.

"I love you so much, Montana," was his whispered response.

"Ew, gross," came a familiar voice, one that Danny had thought he would never hear again. He raised his head and turned his attention to his friend. His eyes filled with tears and he was sure that he was grinning like an idiot. Don Flack looked pale and a bit worse for wear. But he was smiling up at the couple entwined on the floor in front of him as he continued, "Do me a favour, will you? Get a room."

Danny was pulled back to the present by the feeling of gentle fingers running through his hair. He raised his head and looked up to see Lindsay smiling down at him. She looked better. More rested. She had regained some of the colour in her cheeks. While she had been sleeping, Danny had gotten Stella to go down to the hospital gift shop to pick up a hairbrush, and he had lovingly brushed her hair out for her as best he could without waking her. He knew it wasn't much, but he had needed to do something for her, some gesture to show her how much he loved her.

"Hi, beautiful," he said. Her hand moved from running through his hair to resting on his cheek. He brought his own hand up and placed it over hers, turning his face so that he could kiss the palm of her hand. He turned back to face her, her fingers still skimming over his cheek, her eyes welling up with tears once again. "Oh, baby," he soothed as she sniffled, "don't cry. It's okay. It's all okay. I'm right here."

She was shivering. She gently pulled on his arm, wanting to feel his warm body against hers. Her arms still ached, but even with her gentle touch, he knew instinctively what she wanted. He got up from the chair and walked around to the other side of the hospital bed and gingerly climbed in beside her, not wanting to hurt her. He leaned back on the pillows and put his arm around her, pulling her into his chest. He placed tender kisses into her hair and his fingers gently stroked up and down her back. She inched closer to him, pressing the length of her body up against his, not wanting to feel a hair's breadth of distance between them.

He continued to murmur loving reassurances in her ear until he felt her breathing even out, until he knew that she was sleeping. Once more, the steady beep of the heart monitor was the only sound in the room.

Danny smiled to himself and let the rhythmical beat of the machine send him off into his own peaceful slumber.

* * *

A/N: So, there you have it. I hope you enjoyed the little bit of D/L fluff at the end. Please let me know if it was fluffy enough... I always think I'm over doing it :)

There will be an epilogue coming shortly as there are still a few things to wrap up...

I sincerely hope that you enjoyed this chapter and that it fits in with the rest of the story. As always I welcome your comments and reviews. They are so very much appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: And so here we come to the very end. I have tried to tie up as many lose ends as possible here, and I hope that this chapter offers the story as a whole a sense of closure.

Disclaimer: Mine? Nope. Not a chance. Oh, except for "Tee Bah". He's mine. Think I've lost my mind? You're thinking what the hell is a "Tee Bah"? Well read on...

* * *

"Any last words, Casey?" he said.

Casey had closed his eyes and was smiling serenely at him. "Just do it, Messer," he said. "You know you want to. You want it more than you've ever wanted anything. I'll be a distant memory. A figment of your imagination. Pull the trigger."

Danny stared at the man in front of him. Casey was right. He wanted to get this over with and get on with his life. But something just wasn't right. Casey didn't create this whole elaborate scenario just to stand there and let Danny shoot him in the head. Or did he?

Was this what he wanted? Danny knew that if Casey made it out of here alive he would be sent to the deepest, darkest hole that the United States Penal System had to offer, possibly never to see the light of day again. Danny figured that to Casey, death must seem preferable to the alternative. And he wanted Danny to give him that release.

Danny loathed the man in front of him, hated him to his very core. But would he be able to live with himself if he gave Casey what he wanted?

He thought of Lindsay and Flack. His best friend and his wife. Two people that had gotten him through some of the worst moments in his life. He was fighting now to hold back the tears that were desperate to escape. How would he get through this without them? How would he cope without being able to sit and bullshit with Flack over a few beers and some pool? And how... how was he expected to get through his day without his Montana? The thought of waking up each morning and seeing her side of the bed cold and untouched made his throat constrict with overwhelming sadness. And the thought of Lucy growing up without knowing what an amazing person her mother was caused him actual physical pain.

Danny let out a strangled sob and pulled the trigger.

He watched as Shane Casey's head snapped back with the force of the bullet as it pierced through his skull. He saw it all in slow-motion; the blood and bits of bone and brain matter that flew through the air, creating a pattern on the wall behind Casey; the lifeless body of the man who had ruined his life as it slumped to the floor; his own hand, shaking from the adrenaline coursing through his body.

And then he heard it. Her voice. He looked over to where his wife should have been hanging by her arms from the ceiling of the room. But she wasn't hanging. She was standing there, with Lucy in her arms, both of their faces covered in a fine mist of blood from the fatal wound in Shane Casey's head. "Danny! What have you done?" she screamed at him, tears streaming down her face. When he tried to reach out to Lucy, she recoiled in terror, sobbing into Lindsay's shoulder, "No! Bad Dada."

He looked at them in horror, then his gaze fell on his own hands. The gun was gone, and his hands were stained red with blood. He heard Mac's voice in his ear and he looked up. "Daniel Messer, you have the right to remain silent..." Mac's voice trailed off, but Danny could see a hard look in his eye as he felt his arms pulled behind his back and felt the cold metallic clink of the handcuffs as they were clasped around his wrists. The faces of his friends surrounded him, their eyes full of shame for what he'd done. Mac's voice rang in his ears. "I thought that we were past all this stuff Danny. I thought that you had grown up. Matured. That you were smarter than this." He shook his head sadly at Danny and one by one his friends turned their backs on him and walked away, leaving him standing alone in the room with his wife and daughter.

He looked back at Lindsay and Lucy, trying to tell them that he was sorry, he hadn't meant to hurt anyone. He had only wanted to protect his family. Lucy was still sobbing quietly in Lindsay's arms, her chubby cheeks stained with tears. Lindsay was glaring at him with a look of pure loathing. "You've ruined our family, Danny," she hissed at him. "And I will never, ever forgive you for what you've done."

With that, she stormed out of the room, which was not really a room at all, but a dark and dank prison cell, the sound of the metal bars clanking shut angrily behind her.

Danny woke with a gasp. His heart was thudding loudly in his chest and he was having trouble breathing. He was drenched in a cold sweat, and his body was shaking as he was overtaken by a wave of shuddering sobs. He curled up on his side, bringing his knees up to his chest, holding them with shaking arms, trying with all his might to forget the dream that had been plaguing him nearly every night for the past week.

So engrossed was he in his own private hell that he didn't feel the weight on the other side of the bed shift slightly until a pair of warm hands began to gently rub his back.

"Shh, shh, it's okay Danny," Lindsay cooed in his ear. "Baby, it's okay. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere sweetheart. It's okay. Shh, shh."

* * *

It had been the same thing every night for a week, and it killed her to watch her husband tormented in this way. The first time it had happened Danny had lain almost comatose for nearly two hours after the sobbing had finally ended. He had refused to look at her or to talk at all. She had not known what else to do so she had simply pulled herself as close to him as physically possible and pressed her body up against his back and whispered what she hoped were comforting words in his ear, kissing his shoulder and neck until he had finally fallen back into a restless sleep.

The next morning when she had woken she was alone and his side of the bed was cold, long since abandoned. The room was still dim as the light coming through the curtains into their room was still a murky grey, indicating that it was morning, but only just. A glance at Danny's bedside clock confirmed that it was only 5:57 am. She sighed and contemplated trying to get a few more precious hours of sleep but decided against it when she heard Lucy fussing over the baby monitor.

Dragging her tired legs out of bed, she had placed her feet inside of her slippers and reached for her housecoat draped over the foot of the bed. Sliding her still-aching arms inside the warm fabric, she shuffled out the door and down the hall to Lucy's bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, and just as she was about to push it open further she heard her husband's voice as he gently soothed their little girl.

"Hey Lucybear," he whispered. "It's okay, Daddy's here. Daddy's got you."

"Dada?" Lucy whimpered.

"That's right, sweetpea," Danny said soothingly. "Da da's here."

She pushed the door open and watched as Danny lifted the little girl up from her bed and held him tightly to his bare chest. As he turned his head to press soft kisses to her chubby cheek, Lindsay could see the early morning light coming through the window reflecting off the newly shed tears that streaked his own face.

She stood in the doorway for a moment, her heart aching for her tiny family and all that they had been through in the past few days. She was unsure whether she should make her presence known and disturb the scene in front of her, when she heard her little girl's sweet voice.

"Mama!" she said smiling at Lindsay, her little head still resting on Danny's shoulder.

"Shh, Lucy," Danny whispered into Lucy's soft blonde curls. "Mommy's still sleeping, so we need to be quiet. Can you do that for daddy?"

"Mama." Lucy persisted.

"I know you want mommy, sweetheart," Danny said, "but she's..."

"Right here," Lindsay finished his sentence, entering the room and walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist from behind. She placed a kiss to the back of his neck and let out a soft giggle as Lucy peaked at her over her father's shoulder, smiling broadly.

"Dada," she said. "Mama!"

"Jeez, Linds. You scared me," he said, turning his face away in the hope that she wouldn't see the remnants of his tears.

"Sorry," she apologized as she placed a kiss on his shoulder. Her hand moved from its resting place on his waist as she gently wrapped her fingers around Lucy's tiny foot and squeezed. "Good morning Lucy," she said.

Lucy began to squirm, reaching out to Lindsay indicating that she wanted her mother to hold her. Lindsay felt Danny's body tense momentarily as Lucy wiggled in his arms before he relaxed and let Lucy crawl into Lindsay's embrace. Lindsay looked up at him and smiled, but her smile faltered when she saw the dejected look on his face.

"Danny, honey," she asked softly, "what's the matter?"

He had shaken his head, his mouth moving but no words coming out, tears welling up in his eyes once more. Then he had moved leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on first Lucy's then Lindsay's foreheads and then he had turned and left the room, walking swiftly down the hall to their bedroom and closing the door behind him.

They both had the day off together. Lindsay had only been released from the hospital the day before and was on strict instructions from Mac not to show her face in the office for at least a week while she recovered. Danny was off because he was still on suspension until a decision was reached regarding the situation with his badge. Lindsay had taken Lucy out to the kitchen to get her breakfast. She had started the coffee and gotten out a bagel for herself and for Danny, placing them in the toaster together. When they were done she put butter on her own bagel and cream cheese on Danny's. Then she had waited.

When he finally emerged from the bedroom, her own breakfast had been eaten long ago, and his was now sitting cold on the kitchen counter. She and Lucy were colouring at the dining room table, and she had looked up at the sound of the bedroom door opening. He was still in his sweatpants but he had put on his worn old Yankees hooded sweatshirt. He smiled shyly at her as he leaned on the archway separating the kitchen from the dining room.

"Hey," he said softly.

She looked up at him and offered a comforting smile. "Hey yourself," she replied. "You okay? You had a pretty rough night."

"I'm sorry I kept you up, Linds," he said lowering his gaze to the floor and shuffling his feet.

"Babe, you have nothing to apologize for," she said putting down the purple crayon that she had been using. She stood up and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his middle and pulling him close while resting her head against his shoulder. She sighed as she felt his arms encircle her own slight shoulders and his stubbled cheek against her forehead. "Are you okay Danny?"

She felt his arms tighten around her body and she heard his breath hitch in his throat as he fought to stay strong in front of her. She pulled back until she could look up into his face. There were no tears, only a haunted sadness in his eyes. She reached up and stroked his cheek with the back of her fingers. "Danny, please tell me what's wrong," she pleaded.

He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose, then nodded toward the couch. "Sit with me?" he asked. She nodded and he skimmed his hands down her arms and took her hands in his and led her to the couch, sitting her down.

Then he went to the table where Lucy was still sitting in her high chair. He collected her from the chair, placed a kiss to the top of her head and placed her in her playpen, along with her favourite teddy bear. It had been Danny's as a child and it was worn and had been patched several times, but Lucy wouldn't go anywhere without it. She pointed at Danny, "Dada," she said. Then she pointed at her teddy. "Tee Bah," she said. "Dada Tee Bah," she said beaming up at Danny.

"That's right sweetpea," he said reaching down to ruffle her curls. "That was daddy's teddy bear. But now it's Lucy's teddy bear, right?"

"Yoo-See Tee Bah?" she asked pointing to the bear.

"Good girl, Lucy," he said. "That's Lucy's bear."

Lucy had contemplated this information for a moment, then pointed at herself and asked, "Yoo-See Bah?"

Lindsay watched as Danny's face broke out in the first genuine smile she had seen that day. "Yes, you're Lucybear. And that," Danny had said pointing to the threadbare teddy in his daughter's arms, "is Lucy's teddy bear."

"Yoo-See Tee Bah," Lucy said matter-of-factly pointing at herself.

Lindsay giggled at the exasperated look on Danny's face. He looked up at her and grinned. "I think I've totally confused the poor kid now," he said. He kissed the tip of his finger and pressed it to Lucy's button nose. Then he turned and made his way over to where Lindsay was still sitting on the couch.

He sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. She cuddled into his side and they both sighed in unison, gazing in wonder and amazement at their daughter, babbling away to her "Tee Bah", lost in a world of her own.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, Linds," Danny said. "I didn't mean to. I just needed time to process things. Get them straight in my head. Figure out what I was really feeling and why."

"You had a nightmare?" she asked.

"Tell you the truth, Linds, it was more like a memory. At least it started out that way, but then I made the wrong decision and my whole world came crashing down on top of me..."

Lindsay listened as Danny told her about his dream. When he was done she reached out and caressed his cheek with her fingers and placed a soft and loving kiss on his jaw. "There is nothing in this whole world, Daniel Messer, that would make me stop loving you," she whispered, her lips moving against the skin of his face as she trailed a string of kisses along his jaw and up his chin. As she was about to lean in to kiss his lips, he pulled his head away slightly and looked away.

"I wanted to do it, Linds," he whispered. "I wanted to, so bad. I wanted to smoke him because he took you from me." He turned back to her, searching her eyes for her reaction. She could see the fear in his eyes as he waited for her to say something. Anything.

She closed her eyes and sighed. She felt the hand that was not tightly clasped around her shoulder reach out and take hers as he rubbed his thumb softly over the back of her hand. "Linds? Please? Tell me what you're thinking," he begged.

"Why didn't you do it?" she asked, opening her eyes.

"What? Why..." the surprise at her question was evident in his voice. "I- I thought about you and Luce. I thought about how much I loved you both and how devastated I would be if I let you down and wound up in prison, leaving Lucy without either of us. And I couldn't do it. I wanted you to be proud of me, wherever you were. I wanted Lucy to grow up with at least one of her parents around," his voice broke as the words came out of his mouth. "I wanted to be able to tell her everyday what an amazing mommy she had, and I couldn't do that if I was locked away in some god-awful prison."

Lindsay looked at Danny. "I am proud of you," she said. "So very proud, sweetheart." She leaned in and kissed him on the lips, slowly and softly. When they pulled apart she rested her head on his chest and continued, "I won't say that it was just a dream, Danny, because I know how devastating these dreams can be. How they can haunt you. But I want you to know that whenever you have them I will be there to hold you and tell you that I'm not going anywhere. And that there is nothing in this whole world that would make me stop loving you."

"I love you, Linds," he said.

"Love you too, Dan"

* * *

"Shh, shh, it's okay Danny," Lindsay cooed in his ear, her hands gently rubbing his back to soothe him. "Baby, it's okay. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere sweetheart. It's okay. Shh, shh."

It was getting easier and easier to come down from the surreal pain that the dream inflicted on him every night. It took him less and less time to realize where he was, and that Lindsay was beside in, comforting him just like she said she would. And just like she had promised a week ago, every time he awoke in this state of confusion and panic, she uttered the magic words that made it all melt away.

"I'm not going anywhere. And that there is nothing in this whole world that would make me stop loving you."

He breathed deeply and relaxed his body, rolling onto his back and taking his wife's small hand in his and bringing it to his lips. He placed a soft kiss on her finger, just below her wedding ring. Then he intertwined his fingers with hers and wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her closer. "I love you, Linds," he whispered.

"Love you too, Dan."

Tangled in each others arms, they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_One month later..._

"Danny in today?" Stella asked Lindsay while they were grabbing a quick cup of coffee in the break room while waiting for test results.

"Yeah," said Lindsay sipping the hot liquid carefully, trying to avoid either burning herself or spilling on her crisp white shirt. "He's really excited. Been going kind of stir-crazy at home, although Lucy is in her element. She loves having Danny home with her all day, every day. She is such a Daddy's Girl. It's so cute, he's like Mr. Mom or something." She smiled over the rim of her coffee cup at Stella. "And to be honest, I'll miss having dinner ready for me every night when I get home, laundry done, all that kind of thing."

"Admit it, you missed seeing his ugly face around the office didn't you, kiddo?" Stella said, winking at her friend and laughing as Lindsay swatted at her with her free hand. "Kidding. Kidding. We've all missed seeing him around. It's been too quiet around here without him."

"Without who?" asked a familiar voice laced with a thick Staten Island accent.

"Flack," said Lindsay. "He doesn't come around the office nearly enough when you're not here for him to harass."

"Very funny, Montana," said Danny, leaning in to peck his wife on the lips. "Hey Stell," he said leaning over and giving her a one-armed hug.

"Hey Danny. You ready to get back to work? We've got a huge backlog of cases that are just waiting for a 'Boom'. I'll meet you in AV when you're done here, okay?"

"Sure thing, Stell," said Danny as he grabbed a coffee cup from the shelf and filled it with the tarry black liquid that passed for coffee on the 35th floor.

"How was Luce this morning? She put up a fuss at the prospect of having to spend the day without her daddy?" asked Lindsay.

"She was fine, actually," Danny replied shaking his head. "Actually, it kind of hurt my feelings. Secretly, I think she was getting sick of me."

"Not possible, babe," she said, winking at her husband as he flashed her a cheeky grin and walked out of the break room to track down Stella in the AV lab.

* * *

"You Daniel Messer?"

"Hmm?" Danny looked up from peering into a microscope at the unknown substance currently under examination. "What?"

"Are you Daniel Messer?"

Danny looked at the man in front of him. He was dressed in a World Send Deliveries uniform and had a thin envelope in one hand and a clipboard in the other.

"Yeah, uh, yes. That's me."

"Sign here please sir," the man said, holding out the clipboard and indicating that Danny was to sign for the envelope held in his other hand.

Danny complied and exchanged the clipboard and pen for the letter. "Have a nice day sir," said the man as he turned on his heel and left the office.

Danny looked down at the letter held in his hand. The return address on the letter was Pennsylvania State Penitentiary - the same prison that Shane Casey had been sent to after being arrested and charged with the murder of Finn Hasnard, one count of Escape and Other Offences Related to Custody, two counts of Assaulting an Officer, two counts of Aggravated Assault, and two counts of Kidnapping. The new charges adding on at least 30 years to his existing three consecutive life sentences.

Danny was glad that he was still wearing his gloves from handling the evidence he had been working on. If this was something from Casey, he may need to preserve any evidence present on the letter.

Taking a deep breath to steady his shaking hands, Danny began to carefully open the envelope. He extracted the single piece of folded paper and his eyes widened in shock as he read the contents of the letter. He reached for his cell and hit Speed Dial 2.

"Mac, it's Danny. I have something that you need to see."

* * *

Mac sat at his desk and looked down at the letter sitting open in front of him. Then he looked across his office to the young man who was pacing back and forth in front of him.

"Is it true?" Danny asked.

"I haven't been able to confirm anything, Danny. No one at the prison is releasing any information just yet."

He watched as Danny ran his fingers through his hair nervously. "I just want it all to be over, Mac," said Danny as he continued his pacing.

"I know, Danny, I really do. And I... Danny, please sit down. You're driving me crazy with the pacing," Mac said. He smiled at Danny who stopped his pacing and looked sheepishly at his boss before sitting down. Mac silently counted to five in his head and sure enough, that was all the time it took for Danny's leg to start bouncing. He chuckled to himself. After all these years, all the hardships he had gone through, after settling down and becoming a husband and father, Danny Messer still couldn't sit still for five seconds.

"As I was saying, I will see what I can do to get some more information from the prison. But it looks genuine, Danny. And with his history, well, it's not something that we can just dismiss as a hoax."

Danny nodded his head and Mac continued. "I will keep you in the loop, let you know the second that I hear anything, okay Danny.""Yeah, Mac," said Danny standing up to leave. "Thanks boss."

"And Danny?"

"Yeah Mac?"

"It's good to have you back."

Danny grinned at his boss. "It's great to be back, Mac. And thanks... for all your help. You know, standing up for me. You... you didn't have to. You could have let them throw the book at me. And I... well I really appreciate that."

"You know I'd do it again in a heartbeat," said Mac trying to keep himself from blushing at the gratitude of the young man in front of him. "And Danny?"

"Yeah, Mac."

Mac got up from his seat and walked around his desk, placing his hand on Danny's shoulder. "Thank you for doing the right thing. With Casey. Considering the circumstances, it can't have been easy," he said. "I owe you an apology. I underestimated you, I thought you were going to ... to do it. I'm proud of you, son. More proud that you'll ever know of how you handled yourself. I'm not sure if I would have made the right choice if I was in your place." He gave Danny's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Danny looked down at his shoes and nodded his head. "Thanks Mac," his voice barely above a whisper. Mac could see the muscles in Danny's face flexing as he struggled to keep himself composed. Then he looked up at Mac and clapped him on the back, flashing him that famous Messer grin before turning and walking out of the office toward the lab where mountains of evidence were awaiting his attention.

Mac smiled to himself. He went back to his desk and picked up the phone, determined to get some answers.

* * *

"Hey, I'm glad you're home. How was your first day back?" Lindsay asked as Danny walked through the front door of their apartment.

"It was good," Danny replied leaning forward to kiss his wife's upturned face. "I'm tired though. Being stuck in the lab for another four weeks until my probation period is over is going to suck. But I'll deal with it. How was your day?"

"Good. When I got home Lucy was asking for her 'Dada Bah' again," Lindsay said, smiling up at her husband. The grin of pride on Danny's face made her heart skip a beat.

"Really?"

"Yeah, she's your Lucybear and you're her Daddybear. Now we just need to work on getting her to say Mommybear and we'll be all set!"

"Don't worry, honey," said Danny sitting down beside her on the couch and taking her feet and placing them on his lap and starting to rub them. He smiled as she sighed and closed her eyes at his touch. "She loves you so much, you know. She's just taking her time, coming up with the perfect name for you. Just wait and see."

She smiled back at him. "Stella said she saw you talking to Mac after I left. It looked pretty serious. Everything okay between you two?"

Danny nodded his head as he continued to massage his wife's delicate feet. "Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine. I just, I got a letter today from Shane Casey. And I needed to talk to Mac about it."

"You got a what? Danny! Why am I hearing about this now?"

"Linds, it's not something that I wanted to talk to you about over the phone," he said looking up at her, taking in her hurt expression. "I didn't want you to be worried about it all night. But I'm telling you now, and everything is okay. Please, don't be upset. I didn't want to say anything until Mac had verified that it was true."

Lindsay glared at him for a moment but her expression softened when she saw the look of genuine concern on his face. "What did the letter say?" she asked.

"Here," he said reaching over the arm of the couch for his messenger bag. He dug around inside for a moment before producing a copy of the letter. He handed it to her and watched her expression carefully as she read it.

_Three years ago you took my brother from me._

_You took the faith I had in him._

_You killed my memories of him._

_You've ruined my plans._

_You've taken away my chance of seeing my brother again._

_So now I'm finishing what I started._

_I'm doing what you couldn't do._

_You fucking coward._

_See you in hell Messer._

_I'll be waiting._

He watched her read it. Then re-read it two more times. Then she finally lifted her head and met his gaze, her brown eyes incredulous. "Is it true?" she whispered, barely able to comprehend what the letter seemed to be telling her.

Danny nodded his head. "He was found this afternoon. He had hanged himself, just like his brother. There was no note at the scene so there was a delay in releasing any information even to outside law enforcement until an internal investigation had been completed. So when Mac called the prison and said that there had been a note sent to me, they were finally willing to part with the details. Shane Casey's gone Linds. He can't hurt us anymore."

Lindsay was staring back at him with tears in her eyes. He was taken off guard when she launched herself at him and caught him in a crushing embrace. She sobbed on his shoulder while he rubbed her back and ran his fingers through her hair.

"It's really over?" she whispered as she sobbed. "Really? For really real?"

Danny chuckled at her, then pulled her back so that he could look at her. He wiped the tears from her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. "For really real, Montana."

They had made it through, they had survived. They had each other and they had Lucy, and no one could take that away from them now. "Love you Dan."

"Love you too, Linds"

There were no more nightmares. There was no more restlessness. That night, for the first time in over a month, Danny and Lindsay Messer slept soundly in each others arms, comforted by the love that they shared.

The End

* * *

And so it ends. Once again, I hope that this chapter has lived up to your expectations. I would love to know what you think of this final chapter, and of course of the story as a whole!

I really have no words to express my gratitude for the support I have received for this story. So I will just say thank you. So very very much.

Massive, enormous, gigantic, humungous thank yous to every single person who added the story to their list of favourites, or requested alerts, or (most surprisingly) added me to their list of favourite authors. I have been truly touched by some of the comments. You guys totally rock my world!


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